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78-year-old Mo. woman accused of bank robbery – again

Published

2 years ago

April 7, 2023

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PLEASANT HILL, Mo. – Knitting, playing Scrabble, baking cookies. These are some of the stereotypical activities you might think of when you think of a woman enjoying her 70s.

Well, what about robbing a bank?

That’s what a 78-year-old woman is accused of doing Wednesday in Pleasant Hill – hitting the Goppert Financial Bank on North Highway 7.

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Surprisingly, this is not the first time she has been accused of this sort of behavior.

Three years ago, at age of 75, police arrested the same woman, Bonnie Gooch, in Lee’s Summit for a different bank robbery.

Gooch was charged with stealing and was later convicted. Her sentence was suspended and she was ordered to have supervised probation, which expired in November 2021.

Now her name’s once again the focus of authorities.

The arrest happened only a few hundred yards from the bank. Justin Lewis is the manager at Guido’s Pizza Place. The scene was just outside the restaurant.

“And I saw two police cars pull up to the bank,” Lewis said.

“I was driving into work and the girl was getting out. And I was like, ‘What the heck? An old lady?’” Lewis said.

“Obviously it was a tense situation,” Pleasant Hill Police Chief Thomas Wright said. “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.”

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Wright said they’re planning to look at the totality of the circumstances – seeing if the 78-year-old needs services – as this situation moves through the justice system.

However, court documents show that when 75-year-old Gooch hit the Bank of the West in Lee’s Summit her son called authorities and “…stated that his mother was ‘off her rocker’ and left the house, angry, saying she was going to rob a bank.”

Police tell FOX 4 that a similar strategy was used in Wednesday’s bank robbery – handing a note to employees.

“Well she’s very wilily,” Wright said.

“She did have an N95 type mask on. Sunglasses and plastic gloves,” Wright said.

It just so happens Maggie Kornis stopped by the scene of the arrest – bringing her dog to a nearby animal clinic. She is 89 years old but can’t relate to a life of “senior crime.”

“Well maybe she was desperate. You know sometimes we don’t save enough money,” Kornis said.

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“She doesn’t seem to be very good at it,” FOX 4’s Jacob Kittilstad said.

“No,” Kornis said, laughing.

“I mean, it doesn’t seem or sound believable,” Lewis said at Guido’s.

“My first reaction was like, ‘Of course in Pleasant Hill,’” he said.

“I wouldn’t have the energy to do it myself,” Kornis said. “You can’t run very fast at 78, I’ll tell you.”

Another notable piece of information spelled out in the 2020 criminal complaint is this: Gooch was convicted of bank robbery in California in 1977. This latest accusation comes 46 years after that first charge.

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Man attacks Jeff Co. deputy with screwdriver during attempted arrest

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are behind bars after a man reportedly attacked a Jefferson County deputy with a screwdriver during an attempted arrest over the weekend.

Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Davis, 47, and Amanda Davis, 45, of Dittmer, Missouri, with felonies in the investigation.

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The alleged attack followed a traffic stop of a driver in the 9500 block of Jones Creek Road on July 7, though the driver was not Nicholas or Amanda.

According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Nicholas reportedly came out of his nearby home, yelled at a deputy and started approaching him while holding a screwdriver. The deputy initially ordered Nicholas to back away, then used pepper spray.

Per court documents, the deputy attempted to arrest Nicholas, who then struck him in the chest with the screwdriver. Amanda reportedly approached the deputy and pulled him away from Nicholas before both ran inside their home.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the situation prompted an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, a SWAT team and a K-9 deputy. The situation led to Nicholas refusing warnings and being bitten by a K-9.

Nicholas and Amanda are both jailed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. Nicholas is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim and armed criminal action. Amanda is charged with resisting/interfering with arrest.

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St. Louis Public Schools superintendent to be sworn in

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2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — The new St. Louis schools superintendent will be officially sworn into office today. Dr. Keisha Scarlett took over the job in July after the retirement of Dr. Kelvin Adams. She was assistant superintendent in the Seattle Public School District. The installation ceremony is at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting.

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Gas tanker crashes into St. Louis Metro transit center

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — A gasoline tanker truck crashed into a Metro transit center near Riverview and Hall Streets early Tuesday morning and knocked over a power pole. The pole is leaning on other power lines. Police have the area blocked off here because there is a downed power line. Ameren and Metro crews are also on the scene.

The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. It’s still unclear exactly what caused the crash, but we do that there was a second vehicle somehow involved. The airbags on that second vehicle did deploy.

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Police at the scene have not been able to give us a lot of details. Metro officials tell FOX 2 that the transit center here is operating this morning for passengers and buses. Access to certain areas will be limited here as clean up unfolds.

A Metro spokesperson says half of the station isn’t being used right now because of safety issues. It isn’t impacting overall bus operations, everything is just happening on the other side of transit center.

The extent of the damage to the actual transit center is still unclear, but I’m told it does not appear to be extreme. A Metro spokesperson tells me there were no injuries to any metro workers or passengers. The tanker driver also was not injured.

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