A transient Yuba City man was charged with murder Saturday after U.S. Forest Service officers in Plumas County found a dead body in his camper.

Ricky Ray Kingsley, 53, was spotted Friday evening by a forestry agent on Highway 70 near Belden in a heavily wooded area in the Feather River Canyon.

After a brief encounter, the officer approached Kingsley’s Dodge motor home, which was nearby, according to Sgt. Brian Baker of the Yuba City Police Department, and Sutter County Jail records.

“”He was merely checking on the vehicle,”” Baker said. “”He discovered there was a dead guy in there.””

The Plumas County Sheriff’s Office determined during a preliminary investigation that the deceased, whose name has not yet been released, had been the victim of a homicide that occurred in Yuba City.

“”It was an obvious homicide, but we’re not ready to release details,”” said Baker.

The man was killed on the north side of Yuba City, he said.

Investigators from the Yuba City Police Department arrested Kingsley in Plumas County on Saturday.

According to his booking record, Kingsley has been living in his motor home in the Yuba City Walmart parking lot.

He was booked into the Sutter County Jail without bail.

An arraignment date has been tentatively set for today.

According to Appeal-Democrat records, Kingsley was arrested in June 2010 by Yuba City police on a felony charge of possession of ammunition by an ex-felon.

His address was listed then as being in Magalia in Butte County

The homicide investigation is ongoing.