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PD: Man robs Mesa bank to pay debt to Mexican drug cartel

Posted at 2:45 PM, Sep 20, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-20 20:25:15-04

A man accused of robbing a Mesa bank allegedly did so to pay off a debt to a Mexican drug cartel.

Mesa police report that on September 15 they responded to a bank robbery near Recker and McKellips roads. 

Police say 55-year-old Jeffry Lyn Tuffly handed a note to a bank teller demanding $60,000 in cash or, "a bomb would blow up the bank."

Tuffly was given about $4,000 in cash. He was found right after and followed by unmarked police units. 

When Tuffly realized he was being followed, he sped through a retention basin and into a neighborhood, where he reportedly started throwing money out of the window. 

Tuffly then surrendered to police. 

When questioned, he allegedly told police that he owed money to a Mexican drug cartel and robbed the bank to pay off his debt. 

He's been charged with armed robbery and theft.