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Jailed hippie turns whiny (Kicked out of "free love" commune, goes gunning for Guru)
The New York Daily News ^ | July 8, 2007 | JOHN LAUINGER and TINA MOORE

Posted on 07/08/2007 9:03:13 AM PDT by Stoat

Exclusive

Jailed hippie turns whiny


BY JOHN LAUINGER and TINA MOORE

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Sunday, July 8th 2007, 4:00 AM


Rebekah Johnson is accused of shooting commune leader Jeff Gross, below.


Jeff Gross

Jeff Gross

Margaret Johnson

Rebekah's mom, Margaret Johnson, may face charges for helping her daughter while she was on the run.

The ex-hippie accused of gunning for a Staten Island commune leader is playing the victim - whining that she shouldn't be locked up.

"I'm a babe in the woods," Rebekah Johnson told the Daily News yesterday in an exclusive interview at Rikers Island.

"I can't defend myself in here."

Johnson spent a year on the lam after allegedly trying to kill Jeffrey Gross, guru of the free-love Ganas commune, which booted her in the early 1990s.

She was nabbed in Philadelphia last month, extradited to New York and arraigned Friday on second-degree attempted murder charges.

Wearing a gray prison jumpsuit and brown glasses, the 44-year-old had the demeanor of an injured animal as she complained about press coverage of the case.

"I don't like what's going on in the media," she said. "I feel like the police are feeding me to the media."

And she fretted that her fate will be sealed if she can't get out of Rikers, saying, "I can't prepare my defense from jail."

Although detectives say they believe Johnson intended to take another shot at Gross with an AK-47 she bought on the run, she grew angry and glared across a table when asked about it.

"How could the police know my intentions?" she growled. "How could they know how I feel?"

When asked whether she shot Gross, Johnson said, "It's too soon to talk about these things."

She struggled to compose herself and appeared to suppress her fury.

"I have to talk to my attorney," she said, abruptly ending the interview.

Johnson faces 25 years in prison if convicted of shooting Gross.

As The News reported yesterday, prosecutors are also exploring charges against her blue-blooded mom and sister for financing her year as a fugitive with cash wired through Western Union.

Johnson hit the road after ambushing Gross in May 2006 outside the New Brighton commune, shooting him in the arm, neck and chest, authorities said.

He was hospitalized in critical condition for weeks and went into hiding when Johnson disappeared.

Cops got a break in the case when the flower-power pistolera used her real name to purchase a van on Craig's List.

The woman who sold the vehicle to her gave cops Johnson's Philly address, and cops who went to the shabby $400-dollar-a-month apartment observed a "banana style" ammo magazine on the floor through a window, a police report shows.

They obtained a search warrant and found the AK-47 assault rifle and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, court documents show.

Cops said they found shooting targets imprinted with human silhouettes, and one of them had been shot 28 times.

Books included "Cults in Our Midst," "Sexual Harassment on the Job" and Coleman's Surplus Magazine, a firearms publication, court documents show.

They also found more than a dozen license plates from New York, Virginia and New Jersey. Cops also confiscated computer equipment and prescription drug bottles.

tmoore@nydailynews.com

  1. Hippie hit-woman pleads not guilty
  2. Kin sent hippie shoot suspect cash, sez DA


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: New York
KEYWORDS: freelove; hippie; medusa; toouglyforwords
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To: Larry Lucido; EveningStar
That's a MAN.. MAN!

Tard Ping Worthy?

21 posted on 07/08/2007 10:07:46 AM PDT by agent_delta (I AM ANYBODY)
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To: agent_delta; al baby; Allegra; Auntbee; BJClinton; Dashing Dasher; dfwddr; exile; ...
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket TaЯd ping!
22 posted on 07/08/2007 10:12:44 AM PDT by EveningStar
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To: Stoat; MeekOneGOP; Conspiracy Guy; DocRock; King Prout; Darksheare; OSHA; martin_fierro; ...



23 posted on 07/08/2007 11:34:02 AM PDT by Slings and Arrows (Gaza: Your one-stop schadenfreude entertainment center.)
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To: Stoat

Shoot him? From the her and him photos in the article, all she had to do was sit on him.


24 posted on 07/08/2007 11:41:20 AM PDT by xJones
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To: xJones

Jeff Gross is.

He’s one evil looking dude. Murder is wrong, but my guess is that the world is better off without him. (meaning the skinny guy. the fat *guy* should get the death penalty)


25 posted on 07/08/2007 11:55:56 AM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: Stoat

“Free Love”? I ain’t buyin’.


26 posted on 07/08/2007 12:01:00 PM PDT by MARTIAL MONK
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To: JerseyDvl

“I’m a blob in the woods,” Rebekah Johnson told the Daily News yesterday in an exclusive interview at Rikers Island.


27 posted on 07/08/2007 12:10:24 PM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: Slings and Arrows
Kicked out of "free love" commune

Well, you get what you pay for I guess.

28 posted on 07/08/2007 1:45:23 PM PDT by GOP_Raider (FReepmail me to join the FR Idaho Ping List.)
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To: GOP_Raider

>> Kicked out of “free love” commune

> Well, you get what you pay for I guess.

It’s still overpriced.


29 posted on 07/08/2007 2:04:49 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows (Gaza: Your one-stop schadenfreude entertainment center.)
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To: Stoat

?


30 posted on 07/08/2007 2:23:36 PM PDT by MrBambaLaMamba (Buy 'Allah' brand urinal cakes - If you can't kill the enemy at least you can piss on their god)
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To: MrBambaLaMamba

I always suspected but coould never confirm....before now, that is.


31 posted on 07/08/2007 5:28:47 PM PDT by Stoat (Rice / Coulter 2008: Smart Ladies for a Strong America)
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To: MARTIAL MONK
Free Love”? I ain’t buyin’.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this was why "she" was kicked out of the commune....ugliness so profound that it literally hurts to look.

 

Medusa

32 posted on 07/08/2007 5:39:58 PM PDT by Stoat (Rice / Coulter 2008: Smart Ladies for a Strong America)
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To: kinoxi

I knew Hippies.Hippies were friends of mine.
You,lady,are NOT a Hippie!


33 posted on 07/08/2007 5:42:55 PM PDT by Riverman94610
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To: Stoat

Is there is “Wouldn’t hit it” ping list?


34 posted on 07/08/2007 5:45:01 PM PDT by don-o (End Freepathons forever. Do the RIGHT thing. Become a monthly donor)
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To: MrBambaLaMamba

I have never heard a Minnesotan talk like Garrison does. Must be something in the fine wine and cheese he eats.


35 posted on 07/08/2007 5:47:53 PM PDT by Sawdring
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To: MrBambaLaMamba
Lake Whoa!! Be Gone!!
36 posted on 07/08/2007 5:49:15 PM PDT by small voice in the wilderness ( Bumper sticker idea: Hillary/Obama Nation '08. Let the desolation begin)
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To: don-o; Fire_on_High
 

Is there is “Wouldn’t hit it” ping list?

No, but there's a "Rodents" pinglist hosted by Fire_On_High which might be appropriate.

UPDATED MASTER List of FReeper PING LISTS; Vol. VIII - SPRING Edition!

37 posted on 07/08/2007 5:56:58 PM PDT by Stoat (Rice / Coulter 2008: Smart Ladies for a Strong America)
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To: Stoat

2 bagger with an attitude.


38 posted on 07/08/2007 5:59:52 PM PDT by TASMANIANRED (Taz Struck By Lightning Faces Battery Charge)
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To: Stoat

I see that all of those young Ganas folks wish to experience “commune” living. I have suggestion: Get married and raise a family! Experience the ultimate in “commune living.”


39 posted on 07/08/2007 7:17:39 PM PDT by StormEye
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To: Stoat

LOL...that dude’s homelier than the south end of a north facin’ rat, but other than that I’m not seeing where this goes on my list. Unless it’s just to draw attention to your beady-eyed cuteness :-)


40 posted on 07/09/2007 12:18:41 AM PDT by Fire_on_High (I am so proud of what we were...)
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