A 78-year-old senior citizen came out of retirement to pull another bank job. Bonnie Gooch is an experienced professional bandit. She didn’t make it far before she was arrested and she also cooperated with police. They’ll probably just let her go again.
Senior bank robber
She has a history of committing bank robberies but authorities were sure the 78-year-old had quietly retired. Missouri resident Bonnie Gooch was taken into custody to update her mug shot.
Apparently, those Social Security checks aren’t going as far under Joe Biden as they used to, forcing her to supplement her income. She went to the Goppert Financial in Pleasant Hill to make a withdrawal there, even though she didn’t have an account.
The Pleasant Hill Police Department wasn’t given a description of the suspect when the report of a bank robbery in process came in around 3:20 p.m. Wednesday, April 6.
78-year-old Bonnie Gooch arrested for robbing a bank — again https://t.co/XM7FRlOW9v pic.twitter.com/018421HQET
— New York Post (@nypost) April 7, 2023
While en-route, police “were given a description of the suspect as well as her vehicle.” It wasn’t a very good description of the suspect but they quickly tagged the car.
They soon spotted the target vehicle “not too far from the bank” and pulled it over. “Gooch was taken into custody without incident.” Officers were astounded. “Obviously it was a tense situation,” Pleasant Hill Police Chief Thomas Wright relates.
“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.”
A repeat offender
Once police had Gooch in cuffs they took her in for processing and learned she’d been arrested back in 2020 for a similar robbery and was convicted for it. She had been 75 at the time. The judge took pity on her and gave her a suspended sentence with “supervised probation,” even though she had priors.
The paperwork from that case notes “Gooch was also convicted of bank robbery 46 years ago in California.” Her probation ended in November 2021 and she’s been a model citizen ever since.
For Wednesday’s little escapade, “Cass County prosecutors charged Gooch with stealing or attempted stealing from a financial institution, and her bond was set at $25,000.”
Even though she’s been booked and charged Chief Wright is exploring her options. The department “plans to look at circumstances in their entirety and determine if Gooch needs any type of services.” At least she’s polite when she knocks over a bank.
This time, she used the same method as the attempt in 2020 and probably the earlier one as well, “handing a note to the bank employees.”
It’s obvious to everyone that what Ms. Gooch was doing amounts to a cry for help. Unable to feed, clothe and house herself on limited means gave her an idea of how to spend her retirement more frugally. As long as she can watch TV in the day room, she’ll be set for the rest of her days.
