More than 40 years after a man on the United States Marshals Most Wanted list failed to show up for his arrangement on attempted first degree murder charges, he’s finally back behind bars — as the U.S. Attorney’s Office lays out the wild saga that led to his arrest this month in New Mexico.
76-year-old Stephen Craig Campbell was nabbed at what police referred to as “a remote property” in Weed, NM on February 19 and now faces fraud charges related to the alleged use of a stolen identity. Per authorities, he had been using the identity of a dead college classmate for the past four decades.
If convicted, he faces 10 years in prison, before extradition to Wyoming to stand trial for a 1982 bombing that seriously injured his estranged wife.
Before he dropped off the grid, Campbell was arrested in Wyoming after he allegedly planted an explosive device inside a toolbox left on the doorstop of his estranged wife’s boyfriend, this according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
While it’s believed she wasn’t the intended target, she opened the toolbox nonetheless — detonating the bomb and causing her to lose a finger in the explosion, as well as other injuries. A fire also broke out at the residence as a result of the blast, as well as the neighboring unit.
While Campbell was arrested for attempted first degree murder, he was allegedly released on bond in 1983 and then failed to show up in court, leading to an active warrant for his arrest. That warrant remained active for more than 40 years, as Campbell then totally vanished … getting him a spot on the United States Marshals Most Wanted List for four decades.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Campbell applied for a passport under the name Walter Lee Coffman in 1984.
Coffman died 1975 at the age of 22, said authorities — suggesting a “likely connection” between the pair by pointing out that Coffman and Campbell attended the University of Arkansas at the same time, while both studying engineering.
When he applied for and renewed the passport, Campbell allegedly used his own photo and address. In 1995, he then allegedly obtained a Social Security card in Coffman’s name, while using a driver’s license issued in Coffman’s name as well.
Per the release, Campbell moved to Weed, New Mexico in 2003, buying property in Coffman’s name, all while renewing his passport with new photos of himself and using his then-new address. That continued until September 2019, when he alleged used more fraudulent documents with Coffman’s name on them to renew his license. After it was issued to him, the National Passport Center’s Fraud Prevention Unit discovered Coffman’s death.
As part of the subsequent fraud investigation into Campbell, authorities allegedly discovered he received Social Security Title II Retirement Insurance Benefits under Coffman’s identity — and is suspected of receiving approximately $140,000 in U.S. government funds administered by the Social Security Administration in Coffman’s name.
The investigation also resurfaced the attempted murder charge against Campbell.
On Valentine’s Day 2025, an arrest warrant was obtained for Campbell, as well as a search warrant for the home registered in Coffman’s name.
Per the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office in New Mexico, a team made up of the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Social Security Administration investigators, and the Otero County Sheriff’s Office arrived at his compound for the arrest.
The sheriff said Campbell allegedly “greeted law enforcement armed with a scoped rifle, positioning himself in an elevated, partially concealed spot.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office, meanwhile, referred to the gun as a “high-powered rifle.”
Both agencies say he initially refused to come out, before repeated orders and the deployment of flashbang stun devices. Eventually, he came out and surrendered and was taken in without shots fired.
In addition to his rifle — which authorities say was loaded with “high-powered ammunition capable of piercing standard body armor and ready to fire, with the scope caps flipped open, the selector lever set to fire, and a round chambered” — a search of the property uncovered 57 firearms and a stash of ammunition.
Campbell was charged by criminal complaint with misuse of a passport and will remain in custody pending trial. If convicted of the current charge, Campbell faces up to 10 years in prison. Additional charges are possible; no trial date has been set.
