78-year-old in mask and gloves arrested for bank robbery for the third time

A 78-year-old Missouri woman was arrested for allegedly trying to steal money from a bank for the third time in her life, the second time in the last three years, according to Fox News.

Bonnie Gooch has a history of committing bank robberies and is once again accused of trying to steal from a Pleasant Hill, Missouri, banking institution on April 5, 2023.

Police responded to reports of a bank robbery at around 3:20 p.m. Gooch allegedly handed a note to bank employees demanding the money.

The woman reportedly wore "an N95 type mask ... Sunglasses and plastic gloves,” according to local law enforcement.

This is the same note tactic Gooch used during her robbery in 2020, for which she was convicted. Age 75 years old at time, Gooch was arrested and convinced for bank robbery in Lee's Summit, Missouri, but was given a suspended sentence and released under supervised probation that expired in November 2021.

For that crime, Gooch's son was the person to tip off authorities, reportedly stating that "his mother was ‘off her rocker’ and left the house, angry, saying she was going to rob a bank.”

According to Fox 4 Kansas City, the 2020 criminal complaint reveals that Gooch was convicted of a bank robbery 46 years prior to her latest charge, robbing a bank in California in 1978.

For her most recent alleged crime, officers received a description of the suspect and her vehicle and apprehended her without incident during the traffic stop.

"Obviously it was a tense situation," said Pleasant Hill Police Chief Thomas Wright. "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 added.

Prosecutors reportedly charged Gooch with stealing or attempted stealing from a financial institution, with a bond set at $25,000.

An 89-year-old witness to the arrest gave a comment to the local news outlet, saying, "Maybe she was desperate. You know sometimes we don’t save enough money."

Police Chief Wright says the department is planning to look at the overall picture of Gooch's life to see if she needs any social services.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!