PORTLAND, Ore. — A young couple accused of killing four people in a multistate crime spree last fall have been indicted of federal racketeering charges alleging the rampage was part of a campaign to "purify" and "preserve" the white race, Amanda Marshall, the U.S. Attorney for Oregon, said Friday.

A federal grand jury handed up the indictment Thursday against David "Joey" Pedersen, 32, and Holly Ann Grigsby, 25, Marshall said in a news release. Grigsby will be arraigned Monday in Seattle. Pedersen will be arraigned in Portland, but that has not been scheduled.

"The indictment in this case alleges horrendous crimes were committed as part of defendants' white-supremacist campaign to kidnap and murder targets on the basis of race, color, religion and perceived 'degenerate' conduct," Marshall said.

They are charged in the killing, kidnapping and robbery of four people last fall: Pedersen's father, David "Red" Pedersen, and stepmother, Leslie "DeeDee" Pedersen, on Sept. 26 in Everett, Wash.; Cody Myers, a 19-year-old from Oregon on Oct. 1; and Reginald Clark, 53 of Eureka, Calif., on Oct. 3.

The 24-page indictment alleges that Pedersen and Grigsby robbed their victims to finance their white supremacist movement, stole their cars to escape and murdered them to eliminate witnesses.

The indictment also states that Pedersen had researched the names and addresses of Jewish organizations in Seattle, Portland and Sacramento, Calif., to identify potential targets for elimination.

"He possessed a draft 'press release' to alert the media about the purpose of the planned murders," the indictment states.

Pedersen pleaded guilty in Washington state to killing his father and stepmother and was sentenced in March to life in prison.

Grigsby is still awaiting trial. She confessed during a five-hour videotaped interview with Oregon state police, Snohomish County, Wash., deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson wrote in a probable cause statement last fall.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/08/17/2652452/suspects-in-nw-c...