Dead body found in home of alleged 78-year-old Pleasant Hill bank robber who missed court
Police found a dead body while searching the home of a 78-year-old woman accused of robbing her third bank in Pleasant Hill.
Officers arrived around 2 p.m. Wednesday to serve an arrest warrant in the 1500 block of Eagle Drive for Bonnie Gooch, who was alleged to have robbed a bank in early April and failed to appear in Cass County Circuit Court Monday.
When officers knocked on the front door, it partially opened and they found a dead woman in a rear bedroom of the home, the police department said in a news release.
The body was taken for further investigation and formal identification of the body is pending. Police do not believe foul play is involved.
Gooch was arrested in early April for allegedly robbing a Goppert Financial Bank at 2100 N. Highway 7. In June, she was released from jail on special conditions that she did not consume alcohol, enter any financial institutions or be within 500 feet of any Goppert locations.
Witnesses said the suspect entered the bank wearing plastic gloves, a black N95 mask and black sunglasses along with an all gray outfit. Court documents show a note she allegedly passed to a teller saying she was robbing the bank and needed $13,000 in small bills.
“Thank you sorry I didn’t mean to scare you,” the note read in part.
After she got the money, Gooch was allegedly seen leaving in a Buick Enclave traveling southbound on Highway 7. Officers later located Gooch and stopped her vehicle in an animal clinic parking lot.
Prosecutors claim she smelled strongly of alcohol and officers said they found a large amount of cash on the floorboard.
According to court records, Gooch has at least two other bank robbery convictions in 1977 in California and in 2020 in Lee’s Summit. Gooch waived her right to a preliminary hearing.
Her formal arraignment was scheduled for July 24.
The Star’s Jenna Thompson and Bill Lukitsch contributed to this report.
