Man gets prison following more DUIs

A 62-year-old was sent to prison following his conviction of two counts of felony DUI in Kootenai County.

David Anthony Pica, Jr., received a unified 30-year prison sentence with parole eligibility after 15 years from District Judge Ross Pittman on Monday.

According to a press release from the Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, on July 17, 2025, a citizen observed Pica stumbling, almost falling, while getting into his vehicle outside a local bar. 

"The citizen called law enforcement and Pica was quickly located and pulled over. Pica was unable to stand straight while attempting to perform field sobriety evaluations — nearly falling on his face while trying to follow the officer’s finger," a press release said. "Pica admitted to drinking only three beers but provided two breath samples revealing a breath alcohol concentration of 0.284/0.284 — more than three times the legal limit of 0.08."

Pica was released from jail after posting bond with an order preventing him from consuming alcoholic beverages. He pleaded guilty to felony DUI on Oct. 23, 2025. 

But a week later, a warrant was issued for Pica’s arrest after he tested positive for consuming alcoholic beverages. Pica then failed to appear for sentencing Jan. 6 and remained on the run until Feb. 9, 2026 when he was arrested — again — for felony DUI. 

This time, Pica refused to complete field sobriety evaluations and to provide a breath sample, the release said. 

Officers obtained a search warrant and collected a sample of Pica’s blood, which was analyzed, revealing a blood alcohol concentration of 0.149 — despite his claim that his last drink was “probably a week ago," the release said.

On July 7, Pica pleaded guilty to felony DUI. These were Pica’s ninth and 10th lifetime convictions for DUI. 

Pica’s criminal history also includes convictions for petit theft, driving without privileges, criminal endangerment and several probation violations. 

Felony DUI is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. 

Having previously been convicted of three prior felony offenses, Pica was also convicted of being a Persistent Violator (sometimes called ‘habitual’ or ‘repeat offender’). 

"This enhancement mandates that a prison sentence be no less than five years but allows a Court to extend a sentence by up to life," the release said.

At sentencing, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jefferson Douglas recommended a unified 40-year prison sentence with parole eligibility after 20 years and recommended that Pica be declared a "habitual drunkard."

Upon a finding that someone is a "habitual drunkard," Idaho Code allows the Idaho Transportation Department to permanently revoke that person’s driving privileges.

Prosecuting Attorney Stanley T. Mortensen thanked Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jefferson Douglas for prosecuting the cases and the Coeur d’Alene Police Department and Idaho State Police for investigating the cases. 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “[a]bout 32% of all traffic crash fatalities in the United States involve drunk drivers. In 2022, there were 13,524 people killed in these preventable crashes. In fact, on average over the 10-year period from 2013-2022, about 11,000 people died every year in drunk-driving crashes.”