Senior bank robber’s unexpectedly polite note
<p>A 78-year-old woman has caused some commotion with her bizarre Missouri bank heist. </p>
<p>Bonnie Gooch, who already has two bank robbery convictions to her name, has collected a brand new charge - one count of stealing, or attempting to steal, from a financial institution - for her actions at the Goppert Financial Bank in Pleasant Hill. </p>
<p>However, it’s the note that Bonnie had for the bank’s teller that has drawn the most attention around the world, with the senior bank robber allegedly stating that she “didn’t mean to scare” anyone. </p>
<p>As <em>The Kansas City Star </em>reported, Bonnie supposedly entered the establishment just after 3pm, ‘disguised’ by her facemask and sunglasses. After approaching the counter, she is said to have handed over a note that demanded “13,000 small bills”, and another that read “thank you sorry I didn’t mean to scare you”.</p>
<p>Prosecutors in Cass County said surveillance video from inside of the bank showed Bonnie banging on the counter and demanding that the teller hurry up. </p>
<p>Bonnie made her getaway from there, but was ultimately caught by law enforcement officers, who reported that her car smelled of alcohol, and had money spread across its floor. Despite this, she is not facing any alcohol related charges. </p>
<p>Pleasant Hill Police Chief Tommy Wright described the incident as “just sad’, and noted that Bonnie - as far as they were aware - had not been diagnosed with any notable ailments.</p>
<p>“When officers first approached her, they were kind of confused ... it’s a little old lady who steps out,” he explained. “We weren’t sure initially that we had the right person.”</p>
<p>He also noted that in his three decades as a police officer, he had never encountered a robbery suspect of a similar age to Bonnie. </p>
<p>But it wasn’t Bonnie’s first rodeo, with Bonnie having been convicted for her actions in California in 1977, and again in another Kansas City suburb in 2020. Her probation for the latter only ended in November 2021. </p>
<p>At the time of her 2020 theft, court documents cited by <em>Fox 4 </em>note that Bonnie’s son explained she had left the house “angry” and had declared that she was “going to rob a bank”.</p>
<p>She is now being held on a $25,000 USD (~$37,500 AUD) bond at a Cass County detention centre for her 2023 crime. </p>
<p>And as Police Chief Tommy Wright also revealed to <em>Fox 4</em>, he and his team were evaluating whether or not Bonnie would require further services as her case progressed through the criminal justice system. </p>
<p><em>Images: Facebook</em></p>
