Man known as ‘cocaine fairy’ reaches deal in Flathead County burglary cases
CHRIS PETERSON | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 days, 2 hours AGO
Michael Ray Downing
Chris Peterson is the editor of the Hungry Horse News. He covers Columbia Falls, the Canyon, Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness. All told, about 4 million acres of the best parts of the planet. He can be reached at [email protected] or 406-892-2151. | March 2, 2026 11:00 PM
A man once dubbed the “cocaine fairy” by Flathead County authorities has reached a plea deal for charges stemming from a string of robberies in the Flathead Valley.
Michael Ray Downing, 47, of Hungry Horse accepted the agreement on Jan. 5.
Per the deal, Downing agreed to plead guilty in Flathead County District Court to felony accountability to burglary charges, burglary and witness tampering. All told, he agreed to plead guilty to six of the 13 counts initially brought against him.
Downing was arrested May 6 by Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputies. Investigators said they linked him to more than $1 million in thefts dating back to October 2024, encompassing about 15 burglary cases.
One of those was theft of vehicles from Glacier Raft Co., though the majority of the targeted properties were vacant houses, 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 cloud of cocaine as he ducked into the woods, thus the moniker.
He escaped 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 more recent burglary ring.
Bruns pleaded guilty to one count of felony theft in July 2025 and was sentenced in September 2025 by Judge Amy Eddy to a six-year deferred sentence. Eddy ordered her to 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.
Downing’s sentencing is scheduled for March 5.
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