Hopkins police released a detailed description of a suspected drug dealer Tuesday who is a fugitive after being charged with supplying a deadly dose of heroin to an addict.

Devon McFerrin, 31, of Minneapolis, was charged last week in Hennepin County District Court with third-degree murder in the death of Timothy C. St. John, 31, on Feb. 20, 2012.

McFerrin is described as black, 5 feet 7 inches tall and 175 pounds. Police say he walks with a limp because of an amputated left leg, and he also has poor teeth.

"We don't want you to approach" McFerrin, said police Sgt. Michael Glassberg. Anyone with information about the suspect's whereabouts should call 911 or Hopkins police at 952-938-8885.

St. John, a husband and father of four who was a chef at various restaurants in the Twin Cities area, overdosed at his apartment on Lake Street NE.

He had been "trying to get his addiction under control" for about two years through Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge, a Twin Cities program for addictions, said his father, Randall St. John of Kingsford, Mich., in the Upper Peninsula.

Police say St. John ingested heroin that was bought at the Pennwood Market at Penn and Glenwood avenues in north Minneapolis from a dealer named "Church." McFerrin told police that is his nickname, according to the criminal complaint.

McFerrin is known as a "prolific heroin dealer" who had been St. John's supplier previously, the complaint added.

McFerrin's criminal history in Minnesota includes convictions for domestic assault, illegal weapons possession and drunken driving.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482