Here's a lady, pushing eighty, who is most definitely off her rocker.
Robbing banks at the ripe old age of seventy-eight, now that's dedication!
This happened last week in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, and it wasn't Bonnie Gooch's first rodeo either.
Witnesses said the suspect — dressed all in gray, with plastic gloves, a black N95 mask and black sunglasses — approached the counter and passed the teller a note, which, according to documents filed in Cass County Circuit Court, read in part: "... is a robbery I need 13,000 small bills … thank you sorry I didn't mean to scare you."
Surveillance video captured her banging on the counter, asking the teller to hurry and give her the money, Cass County prosecutors claim. The woman allegedly advised the teller not to count the money and "just give it to her."
Fitting that her name is Bonnie, don't you think?
And I don't know about you guys, but if I was the bank teller this would terrify me. Sure, some big scary guy in a mask would scare me too, but there's just something extra spooky about an elderly woman holding up a bank that just rubs me the wrong way.
Here's how they were able to track her down:
After she was given the money, the suspect, later identified by police as 78-year-old Bonnie Gooch, was seen leaving in a Buick Enclave with its handicap registration number on display. Prosecutors say the vehicle pulled out of the bank and onto southbound Highway 7.
Officers were then able to locate Gooch and stopped her vehicle in the Pleasant Hill Animal Clinic parking lot. The suspect smelled strongly of alcohol, prosecutors claim, and police found a large amount of cash in small bills on the floorboard.
Police arrested Gooch. Thursday, she was charged with one count of stealing or attempting to steal from a financial institution.
She remains in Cass County Jail, with her bail set at $25,000.
Honestly, Bonnie Gooch, you're about as hardcore as they come. You may be off your rocker, but I'd love to have a beer with you someday. Just throwing it out there.
Believe it or not, this wasn't Gooch's first time holding up a bank.
Her first conviction came out of California in 1977, and more recently, the robbery of a Lee's Summit bank in 2020...
On the evening of Jan. 23, 2020, police responded to a Lee's Summit residence after Gooch's son called and told them his mother was "off her rocker," according to documents filed in Johnson County Circuit Court. Her son claimed Gooch had left in a maroon SUV, neon Nike hat, black wig and BB gun . She was angry, he said, saying she was going to rob a bank.
About 30 minutes later, officers responded to a robbery at Bank of the West near Northeast Route 291 and Chipman Road. There, a teller told police she was working the drive thru window when a short, older woman wearing a lime green hat and wig entered the bank. The woman handed her what looked like a blank birthday card with a note on top that read "this is a robbery," according to court documents. The note requested $3,000 in $50 and $20 bills.
Crazy, right?
Honestly, I have to believe that this lady is a long lost child of the infamous Bonnie and Clyde. Because literally any other explanation just doesn't check out.
Well, besides the "off her rocker" explanation. That one seems pretty legit.
I'll leave you with Bonnie's mugshot:
As well as this reporting from the local news station:
