The suspect in a fatal arson attack almost three weeks ago on Fourth Ave in Amos, Quebec has been tracked down and arrested in Florida.

Police in Tallahassee arrested Justin Bresaw, 35, after a police officer asked to see his identification at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

Bresaw was spotted charging a laptop in an electrical outlet behind a church.

David Northway, a spokesman for Tallahassee police, said an officer on patrol asked Bresaw what he was doing outside so late.

"Of course, this is kind of suspicious since it's 1:30 in the morning," Northway said in an interview.

"Not too many people are sitting behind a church typing on a computer, so he (the officer) got out and started to talk to him."

Bresaw gave a false name at first, Northway said, and tried to flee the scene while the officer was entering his real name into a police database.

Bresaw resisted arrest and managed to escape after a scuffle, which left the officer with a gash on his face and a broken nose after he fell into a metal support beam, Northway said.

"It was quite the fight," said Northway. "Mr. Bresaw was able to get away from him and run."

Northway said sniffer dogs and a helicopter were used to track down Bresaw after he fled into a wooded area. He was found three hours later hiding underneath a house.

Bresaw was booked Sunday morning at a county jail in Florida and is facing charges there including resisting an officer with violence and battery on an officer.

In Quebec, he is wanted in connection with the deaths of Rene Deschatelets, Diane Duhaime and Jean-Guy Labelle.

Christine Coulombe, a spokeswoman for Quebec provincial police, said Sunday the extradition process is underway to bring him back to Canada. That process could be held up by the charges Bresaw now faces in Florida.

"We don't know how long it will take," Coulombe said.

Police had been on Bresaw's trail since last month.

On Sept. 20, three days after the fire, a stolen car allegedly driven by Bresaw was found in a wooded area near Havelock, Ont., northeast of Peterborough.

Amos is a city of about 13,000 located about 600 kilometres northwest of Montreal.

-With a file from The Canadian Press