Weed Fugitive Known as "Walter" Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges
Stephen Craig Campbell pleaded guilty to federal charges after spending 40 years on the most-wanted list
Stephen Craig Campbell, the man arrested in February 2025 at his Weed property after more than 40 years as a U.S. Marshals most-wanted fugitive, has pleaded guilty to federal charges, according to court documents.
Campbell, 73, pleaded guilty to stealing the identity of a dead fellow university student, a case the Reader first covered when he was arrested last year.
In September 2019, a man by the name of Walter Lee Coffman renewed his driver's license at the Cloudcroft Motor Vehicle Department (MVD). That renewal eventually led federal investigators to Campbell.
In the early 1980s, Campbell faced charges for allegedly planting a bomb at the home of his estranged wife's boyfriend in Wyoming.
An explosion injured Campbell’s estranged wife, resulting in the loss of a finger and other injuries, and caused significant property damage, setting fire to the home and a neighboring residence. Released on bond, Campbell failed to appear for his court date and subsequently became one of the U.S. Marshals Service's most wanted fugitives. Campbell has not been convicted of the Wyoming attempted murder charge.
Campbell had been living under Coffman’s name for years. Coffman was a fellow engineering student of the University of Arkansas who died shortly after graduation at the age of 22 in a 1975 car accident.
Earlier this week, Campbell pleaded guilty to misuse of a passport, possession of false papers to defraud the United States, aggravated identity theft, and being a fugitive from justice in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He faces up to 12 years in federal prison at sentencing.
Campbell also admitted to collecting about $140,000 in Social Security retirement benefits under Coffman's name.
Federal agents executing a search warrant at Campbell’s property found him armed and partially concealed. Agents recovered 57 firearms at the property and a large quantity of ammunition. Campbell acknowledged that as a fugitive from justice, he was prohibited from possessing firearms.
Sentencing is scheduled for September. Campbell faces a pending attempted first-degree murder charge in Wyoming.
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