Man acknowledges West Coast killings

PORTLAND – A man convicted of killing two people in Washington state and accused of killing two more in Oregon and California said he’s ready to face the death penalty, but he denies there was a conspiracy.

David “Joey” Pedersen gave the Oregonian an interview in the Multnomah County Jail where he’s awaiting prosecution on a federal racketeering indictment, the paper reported Tuesday.

The indictment charges Pedersen and Holly Ann Grigsby with kidnapping, carjacking and murder as part of an enterprise to promote a white supremacist movement.

Pedersen, 32, pleaded guilty in March to aggravated murder in the death of his father and stepmother in Everett.

He and Grigsby, 25, also are accused of killing 19-year-old Cody Myers in western Oregon because his name sounded Jewish and Reginald Clark near Eureka, Calif., because he was black.

Pedersen said he planned to go to Sacramento, Calif., to kill a Jewish leader he did not name, but the plan ended when he and Grigsby were arrested in October 2011.

“I’ve given up my freedom and potentially my life” to protect “white European culture,” Pedersen told the Oregonian.

“I have no remorse for anything,” he said.

Pedersen said he acted alone, not as part of an organized group.

“It’s absurd for them to allege that Miss Grigsby and I had a structural group,” he said. “There were no others.”

The two were charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act enacted in 1970 to prosecute organized crime. The act was later used against gang members and white supremacists.

Philip Heymann, a professor at Harvard Law School, said the act makes serious homicidal crimes federal offenses.

“If only two people are involved in two crimes, it can be RICO,” he said.

Both do not have to commit the crimes. “If she helped him, that would be enough,” Heymann said.

Pedersen said it’s a “gross miscarriage” of justice that Grigsby is being held and he’s eager to go fight the RICO charges.

“I’m not going to plead guilty to any conspiracy charges,” he said. “Under no circumstances would I accept any plea.”

He said he expects the Justice Department to seek the death sentence.

“How do you not kill a Joey Pedersen?” he said. “I want to get the show on the road. If they’re going to kill me, get the rope out already.”