A man who was once called the “Cocaine Fairy” by Flathead County law enforcement has reached a plea from charges stemming from a string of robberies in the Flathead Valley.

On Jan. 5, Michael Ray Downing, 47, of Hungry Horse reached a plea deal in numerous burglary cases.

In the deal, Downing agreed to plead guilty to felony accountability to burglary charges, burglary, and tampering with a witness.

All told, he agreed to plead guilty to six of the 13 counts initially brought against him.

The net sentence for all counts is 20 years in prison, but he has yet to be formally sentenced.

Downing was arrested May 6, 2025 by Flathead County Sheriff’s Deputies. Law enforcement said they linked him to more than $1 million in thefts dating back to October, 2024. All told, about 15 burglary cases.

One of those was theft of vehicles from Glacier Raft Co., though the vast majority of the targeted properties were vacant residences, often seasonal homes, Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino said last year.

Downing was caught in the spring of 2025 when he allegedly tried to tear a safe out of a house with a chain hooked to a side-by-side up Half Moon Road.

In August 2006 Downing, then 27, earned the nickname “Cocaine Fairy” after he was busted by the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force near Bigfork. When the authorities arrived, Downing fled out the back door as officers came in through the front. Downing tore open a half-pound bag of cocaine as he ran, creating a big cloud of cocaine as he ducked into the woods, thus the moniker.

He escaped that arrest attempt but was captured soon after. Task Force members found more than 4 pounds of cocaine in the home and $12,000 in cash at the time. 

Downing was charged, and ultimately pleaded guilty in federal court, to conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 2007.

He was sentenced to 70 months in prison and five years probation. He violated the terms of his probation in a couple of instances for drinking, according to court records, and wasn’t released from federal probation until 2019.

Two other people, 35-year-old James Ekvall and 36-year-old Ashley Bruns were also charged in connection with the 2024 burglary ring. 

Bruns pleaded guilty to one count of felony theft in July 2025 and was sentenced in September 2025 by District Court Judge Amy Eddy to a six-year deferred sentence and must pay $19,006 to a victim in the case. The deferred sentence came as it was her first felony offense.

Ekvall also reached a plea deal on several felony burglary accountability charges as well as felony theft on Jan. 30.

The recommended sentence in his case is for 20 years in prison, with 10 suspended. Like Downing, he has yet to be formally sentenced, however.

Downing’s sentencing is scheduled for March 5.