78-Year-Old Woman with Two Prior Bank Robbery Convictions, Arrested After Missouri Bank Heist

Mar. 16, 2025

Bonnie Gooch.Photo: Pleasant Hill Missouri Police Department/Facebook

Bonnie Gooch, Elderly Bank Robber

Police in Pleasant Hill, Mo., confirmed Bonnie Gooch was arrested Wednesday afternoon in connection to a heist at Goppert Financial Bank.

Gooch, 78, remains in custody on charges of stealing or attempting to steal from a financial institution, jail records show. She is being held on $25,000 bond.

It’s unclear if she retained an attorney or entered a plea to the charges.

Citing court records,The Kansas City Starreports Gooch entered the Pleasant Hill bank donning a pair of black sunglasses, an N95 mask and all gray clothing, when she allegedly passed the teller a note, reading, this “is a robbery, I need 13,000 small bills… thank you, sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.”

A gun was not used during the alleged robbery, police said, according to the outlet.

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Pleasant Hill Police Chief Tommy Wright reportedly called the incident “unusual,” per theKansas City Star. Because of her age, law enforcement are working “to figure out what the next steps are,” he said.

“When officers first approached her, they were kind of confused… it’s a little old lady who steps out,” Wright explained to the outlet. “We weren’t sure initially that we had the right person.”

“It’s just sad,” he added, according to the paper.

NBC Newsalso reports that her probation from the second robbery ended in November 2021.

Gooch is scheduled to appear in court May 25.

source: people.com