California man accused of using dead person’s identity for over 40 years
STOCKTON, Calif. (CNN, KYMA/KECY) - A California man is accused of using his dead university classmate's identity to evade authorities and claim government benefits.
After 40 years on the run, he was recently apprehended in New Mexico.
The name on a New Mexico driver's license is real, but the man in the photo is not Walter Lee Coffman.
"To think that this man would come in there and desecrate his name...is really, so hard to take," said Sharon Ennis, aunt to the real Walter Coffman.
The man who is accused of living under her nephew's identity for 40 years is Stephen Craig Campbell, born in Stockton who spent his a early years in Northern California.
"I had never heard of this person before," Ennis admitted.
U.S. Marshals say Campbell and the real Coffman, who went by Butch, were both students at the University of Arkansas pursuing engineering degrees. It's a likely connection.
Butch died two months after graduation, his aunt says, in a car accident. That was 1975.
Nearly a decade later is when Campbell first applied for a passport under Coffman's name. He followed that up with a replacement Social Security card, and then an Oklahoma driver's license.
In the middle of his double-life, Campbell landed on the U.S. Marshals' Most Wanted list.
A fugitive charged with attempted murder, Campbell allegedly planted a bomb at the door of his estranged wife's boyfriend in Wyoming.
He got out on bond in 1983, and didn't land back on the radar until 2019 after Campbell was flagged by the National Passport Centers Fraud Prevention Unit.
"To think that after all these years, that this person has used his identity for his own gain...is so sad, so devastating," Ennis expressed.
Campbell was arrested with dozens of firearms and ammunition in New Mexico last month.
Ennis says her nephew's legacy can't be stolen: "It's quite a shock to know that this has been going on for four decades and if this can happen to us, it can happen to anybody."
Investigators believe Campbell collected $140,000 in Social Security in Coffman's name.
He's charged with misusing a passport and will remain in custody until his trial. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
The Sheriff's Office in Wyoming is also looking to pursue the attempted murder charges against him.
