RAPID CITY - An Oregon murder suspect featured on the Nov. 3 television episode of "America's Most Wanted" was arrested Thursday afternoon in Rapid City after a citizen tipped off authorities.

David Wayne French, 48, who has ties to the Rapid City area, is suspected of beating his roommate to death in May in Portland, Ore.

Rapid City Police Capt. Deb Cady said an anonymous tip Tuesday alerted authorities that French might be in Rapid City. After police verified he was in Rapid City, they caught him with the help of the Pennington County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Marshals Service.

He was arrested shortly after 3 p.m. in the parking lot of Albertson's, at 855 Omaha St. French was taken into custody without incident.

French is suspected of killing his roommate, Frank Johnson, 51, who investigators determined died from blunt-force trauma to the head.

According to "America's Most Wanted," French is a transgender man who dresses as a woman and goes by the name "Zalia Crizta" or "Z."

When authorities responded in May to the apartment French and Johnson shared in Portland, French escaped through a window and has been on the run since.

Cady said Rapid City authorities began working with Portland authorities in May in an attempt to find French, who lived in Rapid City as recently as 2001.

French is in custody at Pennington County Jail and will most likely be extradited to Portland.

Contact Katie Brown at 394-8318 or katie.brown@rapidcityjournal.com