A fugitive wished for the tried homicide of his estranged spouse greater than 40 years in the past has been captured after his con of assuming a useless man’s id for many years lastly unraveled, the Justice Division introduced Wednesday.
Stephen Craig Campbell, 76, managed to evade authorities for years beneath a unique id and fraudulently claimed round $140,000 in retired social safety advantages however was arrested in New Mexico final week throughout an armed standoff with police who discovered practically 60 weapons at his residence, prosecutors stated.
The alleged swindler was on the run for planting a booby-trapped toolbox rigged with explosives exterior the Wyoming residence of his estranged spouse’s boyfriend in 1982, the DOJ stated.
Campbell mugshot 2025, left, mugshot from 1982, and arms discovered on his property, (Justice Division)
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When she opened the container, a robust explosion tore off one in every of her fingers and despatched shrapnel flying. The blast additionally ignited a fireplace, destroying the residence and a neighboring unit, police in Sweetwater, Wyoming stated.
In line with the Justice Division, Campbell was arrested and charged with tried first-degree homicide however was launched on bond in 1982. Instantly after posting bail, he vanished.
A warrant was issued, however he disappeared with no hint, avoiding seize for many years by slipping into the id of Walter Lee Coffman, who died in 1975 on the age of twenty-two.
Coffman had graduated from the College of Arkansas simply two months earlier than his demise. College data confirmed Campbell attended the identical establishment throughout that interval, the place each he and Coffman pursued engineering levels, suggesting a possible connection between the 2, the DOJ stated.
Campbell first utilized for a passport beneath Coffman’s identify in 1984 and renewed it a number of occasions, at all times offering {a photograph} of himself and his present deal with, prosecutors allege. He additionally swindled a alternative Social Safety card in Coffman’s identify in 1995 by utilizing an Oklahoma driver’s license in Coffman’s identify.
Campbell’s Oklahoma license beneath Coffman’s identify. (Justice Division)
In and round 2003, Campbell relocated to Weed, New Mexico, the place he purchased a 44-acre property in Coffman’s identify whereas persevering with to resume the fraudulent passport.
His scheme started to unravel in 2019 when he went to resume his New Mexico driver’s license beneath Coffman’s identify utilizing a passport with Coffman’s identify.
Brokers from the Nationwide Passport Middle’s Fraud Prevention Unit quickly found Coffman’s demise and the suspected decades-long fraudulent use of his id.
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On Feb. 19, authorities descended on his property to hold out a search of his property in Weed, the place they stated Campbell was armed with a scoped rifle, positioning himself in an elevated, partially hid spot.
After repeated orders and the deployment of flashbangs, Campbell emerged from the wooden line and was detained. When recovered, the rifle was loaded with high-powered ammunition able to piercing customary physique armor and able to hearth, with the scope caps flipped open, the selector lever set to fireside and a spherical chambered.
Authorities found 57 firearms and enormous portions of ammunition on the property. As a fugitive, Campbell is prohibited from possessing firearms. He was then fingerprinted, which confirmed his true id and fugitive standing.
Jason Mower, a spokesperson for the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Workplace mirrored on the importance of Campbell’s seize, noting how the case had remained a continuing presence within the division for years.
“Campbell’s wished poster has been on the wall at our workplace since I began right here practically 20 years in the past,” Mower stated. “I’ve labored tons of of fugitive circumstances, serving to observe down and seize fugitives all throughout the nation. However by no means Campbell—each lead went chilly, it doesn’t matter what instruments we used. Now, I lastly perceive why.”
Campbell’s scoped rifle. (Justice Division)
Joe Tomich, undersheriff for the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Workplace, emphasised the dimensions of the case, from its violent origins to the decadeslong search and dramatic decision.
“It’s virtually exhausting to wrap your head round this case—the chilly and calculated nature of the unique crime, the many years of looking out, after which, in any case this time, a tense standoff within the mountains of New Mexico,” Tomich stated.
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“We’ve all taken our turns making an attempt to catch Campbell. I’ve a case file on him the dimensions of a novel, stuffed with leads that went nowhere. However we by no means gave up, and now we lastly know why he was at all times one step forward.”
Campbell appeared in federal courtroom Wednesday in New Mexico on fraud fees associated to utilizing a stolen id.
If convicted, he faces as much as 10 years in federal jail earlier than extradition to Wyoming to face trial for the 1982 bombing. The Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Workplace has positioned a detainer to make sure he’s returned to Wyoming as soon as federal proceedings conclude.
