Fugitive from Plains apprehended In Flathead County

A Northwest Montana man with warrants for his arrest in six different counties may finally answer to charges against him.

Mitchell Bear Raymond, 25, of Plains was arrested by agents with the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force and booked into the Flathead County Detention Center on Wednesday, Feb. 3. His bail is set at $310,520. The dollar figure is a total for the various warrants.

Raymond made his initial appearance Thursday in Flathead County District Court on felony theft and bail jumping charges.

Public defender Liam Gallagher asked District Judge Heidi Ulbricht for Raymond to be released on his own recognizance, but deputy county attorney Stacy Boman disagreed, saying “We’ve had quite a bit of trouble getting Mr. Raymond to show up for his scheduled court appearances.”

When Ulbricht asked Raymond where he expected to live in the near future, he said in the Flathead County jail.

Raymond had a pretrial conference set for March 10 and a jury trial for April 19. His arraignment on bail jumping charges is set for Feb. 18.

Raymond has been on law enforcement radar particularly since he led Sanders County officers on a high-speed chase in November.

According to information from the Plains Police Department, an officer tried to stop a vehicle driven by Raymond. He allegedly fled and the chase reached speeds of 90 mph on Upper Lynch Creek Road before ending on Little Thompson River Road.

A passenger in the vehicle was captured, but Raymond escaped.

A social media post by Plains Police said Raymond was considered to be armed and dangerous.

In Flathead County, Raymond was charged with felony theft after he wrote in a letter to a friend he had items from a burglary in Bigfork. Another Flathead Valley man, Andrew Kruse, is accused of the same burglary. He is scheduled to stand trial later this year.

For Raymond, he was scheduled to stand trial on Jan. 13, but he didn’t appear and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was also charged with bail jumping by Boman.

According to court documents, Raymond was released on his own recognizance March 19, 2020.

In Lake County, Raymond was reported to be one of five co-defendants involved in a series of home burglaries and storage units in 2018.

Two of his co-defendants, Eugene Thomas Germain and Brandon Tollie, were sentenced to lengthy state prison terms.

Raymond pleaded guilty in Lake County last April to felony distribution of dangerous drugs, felony burglary and felony bail jumping. His sentencing was scheduled for September, but a warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to appear in court.

In Missoula County, court officials there said Raymond was charged with felony theft of items valued at more than $5,000.