Missouri elderly woman accused of robbing bank for third time

A Missouri woman with a history of committing bank robberies was once again arrested Wednesday for allegedly trying to steal money from a financial institution in Pleasant Hill, according to police.

The Pleasant Hill Police Department said officers responded to reports of a bank robbery in process at around 3:20 p.m. Wednesday, at the Goppert Financial Bank on N. Hwy 7 in Pleasant Hill.

While en route, officers were given a description of the suspect as well as her vehicle, and once located, they conducted a traffic stop and apprehended 78-year-old Bonnie Gooch.

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Police said Gooch was taken into custody without incident.

FOX 4 in Kansas City, Missouri, reported that Gooch is no stranger to getting accused of this type of behavior.

In fact, in 2020, the then 75-year-old Gooch was arrested in Lee’s Summit for bank robbery and later convicted. 

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The news station said Gooch’s sentence was suspended, though she was given supervised probation that expired in November 2021.

On Wednesday, Gooch was arrested not too far from the bank. 

Cass County prosecutors charged Gooch with stealing or attempted stealing from a financial institution, and her bond was set at $25,000.

“Obviously it was a tense situation,” Pleasant Hill Police Chief Thomas Wright told FOX 4. “But when the hands of an elderly woman come out of the car and that is who is driving the suspect vehicle, it’s a little shocking.”

He went on to tell the station that the department plans to look at circumstances in their entirety and determine if Gooch needs any type of services.

When Gooch robbed a bank in 2020, police said, she used a similar strategy to what was used Wednesday, by handing a note to the bank employees.

FOX 4 also reported that the 2020 criminal complaint points out that Gooch was also convicted of bank robbery 46 years ago in California.