Bonnie Betsy Gooch, a 78-year-old woman from Missouri, was arrested on Wednesday after photos taken from a bank’s surveillance video showed her allegedly committing a robbery.
According to witnesses, Gooch entered the bank with a black N95 face mask, sunglasses, plastic gloves, and all-gray clothing. She passed a note to the teller that read, “I need 13,000 small bills,” and ended with, “Thank you, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
The video showed Gooch hitting the counter with her fists and ordering the teller to move faster in collecting the money. Gooch then drove off in her Buick Enclave with the cash in hand.
Officers located Gooch and pulled her over in the Pleasant Hill Animal Clinic parking lot, reporting that loose bills were scattered around the floor of her car and that Gooch smelled of alcohol.
Pleasant Hill Police Chief Thomas described the incident as being both “tense” and “shocking” and remarked that Gooch was “very wily.”
Gooch was also convicted of robbing a different bank in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, in 2020 using a similar tactic.
As of yet, it is still unclear why Gooch chose to commit these robberies. However, it is pertinent to note that Gooch was unarmed during the alleged robbery, which may suggest that, although her actions were still criminal, her intentions were not to cause harm to anyone.