Local News

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — David “Joey” Pedersen has been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences after he pleaded guilty to killing his father and his stepmother in a deadly crime spree through Washington, Oregon and California.

Pedersen had pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of aggravated murder for killing his father, Red Pedersen, 53, and his wife, Leslie Pedersen, 69, in Everett at the end of September.

Before he was sentenced on Friday, Pederson, 31, offered to withdraw his guilty pleas if that would allow the judge to sentence him to death.

The Daily Herald ( http://is.gd/fJOYgQ ) reported  that Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Linda Krese said her only option was to sentence him to the sole penalty available after prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.

Still facing trial is 25-year-old Holly Grigsby, Pedersen’s girlfriend, who is also charged with aggravated murder for the September killings.

Pedersen and Grigsby also face murder charges in Oregon and California. Federal prosecutors could consolidate the cases, and prosecute them as hate crimes.

In court Friday, Pedersen - who sports white supremacist tattoes – admitted to killing two people in Oregon and California – a teen who was shot because he had a “Jewish sounding” last name, and a disabled black man who Pedersen thought was a drug dealer.