Fugitive in 1982 Bombing lived as a dead classmate in New Mexico, says USA.

For decades, a man lived as Walter Lee Coffman, using his Social Security number, obtaining a driving license and passports, buying properties and even charging more than $ 100,000 in government retirement benefits, officials said officials of the Department of Justice.

Actually, he was using the identity of another man who had been dead for almost 50 years, authorities said, after going to Lam because he faced charges of murder at Wyoming.

The law race ended last month, authorities said, after multiple agencies for the law arrested man, Stephen Craig Campbell, on his property in Weed, NM, accused him of misuse of a passport, officials, officials, officials announced on Wednesday.

The United States Prosecutor’s Office in New Mexico accused Mr. Campbell, 76, of assuming the identity of Mr. Coffman, a graduate from the University of Arkansas who died in 1975 when he was 22 years old.

The university records show that Mr. Campbell and Mr. Coffman were university students at the same time who “pursued engineering titles, which suggests a probable connection between the two,” according to the Department of Justice.

Talking to local media in ArkansasMr. Coffman’s family said they were surprised to know that his identity was stolen. Mr. Coffman’s aunt, Sharon Ennis, told 40/29 News that Mr. Campbell “desecrated” the “good name” of his nephew. He also shared that Mr. Coffman died in a car accident on his way home after visiting his fiancee.

David Benatar, a lawyer from Mr. Campbell, said his client is “presumed innocent, and we must let the judicial process come to an end before reaching any conclusion.”

Mr. Campbell, who graduated with a title in electrical engineering, had apparently disappeared in 1983 when he did not appear before the court to face positions of first degree murder attempt in relation to a 1982 Wyoming bombardment, according to judicial documents.

In 1982, he was accused of planting a toolbox that contains an explosive device at the door of his wife separated in Wyoming. He opened the toolbox and the bomb exploded, which made it lose a finger, according to judicial documents. The explosion also set fire to the condominium and a neighboring unit.

After his arrest by the Rock Springs Police Department, in Rock Springs, Wyo., Mr. Campbell was released on bail. The authorities issued a court order for Mr. Campbell after he did not appear at his appointment in the Court.

Mr. Campbell first requested a passport under the name of Mr. Coffman in 1984, “starting a long pattern of fraud that covered decades,” according to judicial records, which also said he later obtained a replacement social security card in the name of Mr. Coffman in 1995, using a driver’s license from Oklahoma on behalf of Mr. Coffman.

After moving to Weed, NM, in 2003, Mr. Campbell bought properties under the name of Mr. Coffman, authorities said.

The cover of Mr. Campbell began to fall apart in September 2019 when he renewed his driver’s license in New Mexico, according to federal prosecutors.

At that time, Mr. Campbell submitted a license previously issued with the name “Walter L. Coffman”, the date of birth of Mr. Coffman and an address in Weed, NM, as well as a Social Security card and an American passport, both in the name of Mr. Coffman, according to judicial documents.

The record searches derived from the license application showed that Walter Lee Coffman had been dead since 1975.

After an investigation, the authorities obtained arrest orders to arrest Mr. Campbell and search on a property of 44 acres in New Mexico that is registered under the name of Mr. Coffman.

When the officers went to carry out the orders of February 19, Mr. Campbell “greeted the armed police with a range rifle, positioning himself in a high and partially hidden place,” according to prosecutors.

The officers deployed stunned grenades and tried to involve Mr. Campbell, who “remained hidden but then left the wood line after repeated orders” and was arrested, authorities said.

Later, the authorities discovered that Mr. Campbell’s rifle was “loaded and ready to shoot.” According to judicial records, “the weapon was especially dangerous due to the high -power ammunition that triggers that it is capable of drilling the standard body armor.”

The prosecutor said that 57 firearms were found and large amounts of property ammunition.

Mr. Campbell, who is detained at the Doña Ana County Detention Center at Las Cruces, NM, was considered a risk of escape by the United States District Court in New Mexico, according to judicial records. It will remain in custody waiting for judgment.

After his arrest, the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office in Green River, Wyo., Asked Mr. Campbell in relation to the 1982 murder attempt.

Jack Begg contributed research.