Fugitive Wanted for 1982 Bombing Has Been Living Under Deceased Classmate's Name for Decades: Feds

Mar. 15, 2025

Stephen Craig Campbell.Photo:Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office

Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office

A California fugitive has been captured decades after allegedly carrying out a 1982 bombing — while living under the identity of a deceased college classmate, authorities say.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico announced the arrest of Stephen Craig Campbell on Wednesday, Feb. 28.

Campbell, 76, was taken into custody on charges of misusing a passport on Feb. 18 at his Weed, N.M., home following a brief standoff with authorities.

Campbell, who was on the U.S. Marshals Most Wanted list for more than four decades, was sought on charges of attempted first-degree murder after he allegedly planted a toolbox containing a bomb that exploded at the doorstep of his estranged wife’s boyfriend in Wyoming in 1982.

fake driver’s license.U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Mexico

U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Mexico

According to a U.S. Attorney’s Officepress release, Campbell’s wife lost a finger due to the explosion and suffered other injuries. The explosion also started fires in the residence and a neighboring unit.

“University records showed Campbell attended the same institution during that period, where both he and Coffman pursued engineering degrees, suggesting a likely connection between the two,” per the press release.

Fake passport application.U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Mexico

Campbell allegedly applied for a passport under Coffman’s name in 1984 and “renewed it multiple times, always providing a photograph of himself and his current address,” according to the release.  He also obtained a Social Security card in Coffman’s name in 1995 and an Oklahoma driver’s license.

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He also purchased a property in Weed in Coffman’s name, the release states.

Campbell’s fake New Mexico driver’s license.U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Mexico

Agents from the National Passport Center’s Fraud Prevention Unit became suspicious and discovered that the real Coffman died in 1975. Agents also learned that Campbell had collected around $140,000 in Social Security retirement insurance benefits using Coffman’s name, authorities allege.

“To think that after all these years that this person has used his identity for his own gain is so sad, so devastating,” Coffman’s aunt Sharon Ennis toldCBS13. “It’s hard to take that this person would desecrate his name for his own gain.”

He is currently in custody, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. It is unclear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney.

source: people.com