15 June 2023
HARRISONVILLE, Mo. — A 78-year-old woman charged with robbing a Pleasant Hill bank earlier this year appeared in Cass County court Wednesday.
Bonnie Gooch has remained in jail since her arrest on April 5.
According to court records, all parties agreed to reduce her bond and she will be released from jail Thursday morning with special conditions. The special conditions include no consumption of alcohol, no entry into any financial institutions and not coming within 500 feet of any Goppert Bank location.
Gooch waived her right to a preliminary hearing with a formal arraignment set for July 24, 2023.
According to court documents, just after 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5, Pleasant Hill police officers responded to a reported robbery in progress at Goppert Bank off 7 Highway.
When en-route, officers were informed the suspect vehicle had left the bank where it was later located and officers stopped the suspect, Bonnie Gooch, who surrendered to police.
Court documents say Gooch was, “observed to be heavily intoxicated and to have a strong odor of an intoxicating beverage emitting from her person.”
An officer could see a large amount of cash in small bills in plain view on the floor board, and a note with hand writing on it as well as two plastic gloves and a black N95 mask on the passenger seat.
A bank teller told police Gooch came into the bank and passed a note to her from the counter, saying the incident occurring was a robbery and was requesting $13,000, court documents say.
After a search warrant was obtained for the suspect vehicle, the note was obtained which said: “Is is a robbery I need 13,000 small bills no! dye pack! 5@10$bills no uppotton thank you sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.” (sic).
Following an interview with FBI agents, Gooch said she did not remember anything that occurred, according to court documents.
Court documents say the FBI was not going to be charging Gooch on a federal level and turned the case over to local law enforcement.
Gooch was also arrested on Feb. 5, 2020 for a bank robbery in Lee’s Summit.
In the 2020 robbery, Gooch was charged with stealing and convicted, but her sentence was suspended and she was ordered to have supervised probation, which expired in November 2021.
Court documents show that when the 75-year-old Gooch robbed the Bank of the West in Lee’s Summit, her son called authorities and said that his mother was, “off her rocker and left the house angry, saying she was going to rob a bank.”
According to the 2020 criminal complaint, she was convicted of bank robbery in California in 1977.