Plains man lodged in Lincoln County jail pending plea deal

A Plains man with warrants for his arrest in six different counties was recently released from the Flathead County Detention Center.

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

According to Sanders County Sheriff's Office Lt. Shawna Chenoweth, Raymond was taken to the Lincoln County jail for charges he faces there. After those are settled, he will be taken to the Sanders County jail for charges he has there and in Lake County.

Raymond made his initial appearance in Flathead County District Court Feb. 4 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.

“We’ve had quite a bit of trouble getting Mr. Raymond to show up for his scheduled court appearances,” Boman noted.

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

But things changed in April. Raymond pleaded not guilty to the Flathead County charges and had a jury trial scheduled for April 19. Then the trial was rescheduled for April 28.

Then, on April 7, a court document indicated Raymond requested a delay in the jury trial in order to negotiate a resolution.

His jury trial, should he and the county attorney’s office fail to come to a plea agreement, is now scheduled for Sept. 7.

Raymond has been on law enforcement’s radar particularly since he led Sanders County officers on a high speed chase in November 2020.

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 miles per hour 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.

According to Sanders County court officials, Raymond is facing three felony counts, including possession of dangerous drugs with intent to distribute, possession of dangerous drugs and obstruction of justice.

In Flathead County, Raymond was charged with felony theft after he wrote in a letter to a friend saying he had items from a burglary in Bigfork. Another Flathead Valley man, Andrew Kruse, is accused of the same burglary. Kruse pleaded guilty April 8 to an amended charge of misdemeanor theft.

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

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.

A July 2020 story in the Valley Journal reported a search warrant was served at Raymond’s home in 2019 which revealed several stolen items which were being investigated by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

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