Prison ordered in motel arson case

SANDPOINT — A Louisiana man who admitted setting fire to a Fifth Avenue motel last year has been ordered to serve up to four years in prison.

David Holden Irby will have to serve at least 18 months of the sentence and he will be given credit for 362 days he’s already served in the Bonner County Jail while awaiting trial.

Irby, 19, was sentenced on Oct. 4 in 1st District Court.

Irby admitted starting a small fire in an upstairs restroom which spread from a paper towel dispenser and damaged the Quality Inn on Oct. 7, 2009. The fire forced the evacuation of an attached restaurant and bar.

There were no injuries, although the blaze caused an estimated $38,000 in damage, according to court documents. A hearing on restitution in the case is pending.

Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson said Irby, who is developmentally delayed, had a solid probation plan which includes employment and squaring away disability benefits. Roberston recommended probation, retained jurisdiction or, at the most, an 18- to 36-month prison term.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Phil Robinson recommended against retained jurisdiction, which could bring about Irby’s release after six months, arguing that Irby posed a risk to the community unless he was held in an in-patient treatment facility. He recommended a two- to five-year term in an Idaho Department of Correction behavioral treatment program.

Irby, of Bastrop, La., has a history of starting arson fires, court documents indicate. He was originally charged with first-degree arson, although the charge was reduced to felony vandalism in exchange for a plea of guilt.

“I am just asking for you to give me one more chance to prove myself yo you and everybody,” Irby said in a written statement to the court.

First District Judge Steve Verby expressed concern about Irby’s propensity toward arson when he imposed the sentence, which included the behavioral treatment recommendation, court documents indicate.