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Florida Thief Allegedly Steals Then Swallows $770K Worth of Tiffany Earrings

EXPENSIVE SNACK

Jaythan Gilder, 32, allegedly asked police if he was going to be charged for “what’s in my stomach.”

Orlando police released an x-ray image that appeared to show a foreign object in the suspect's abdomen.
The Daily Beast/Orlando Police Department

A thief stole earrings from a Florida Tiffany & Co. store last week that were valued at more than $700,000, with police believing he subsequently swallowed the jewelry to bury the evidence. On Feb. 26, Jaythan Gilder, 32, allegedly told staff at a Tiffany & Co. store in the Mall at Millenia in Orlando, Florida that he was a representative of an Orlando Magic basketball player. After being shown a pair of 4.86-carat diamond earrings worth $160,000, a pair of 8.19-carat diamond earrings worth $609,000, and a 5.61-carat diamond ring worth $587,000, Gilder allegedly proceeded to grab the earrings and run out of the store, according to an arrest warrant written by Orlando Police Detective Aaron Goss. When his car was spotted by Florida Highway Patrol hours later, the affidavit details that “Gilder swallowed several items” as he was being taken into custody. A scan of Gilder found “foreign objects in his stomach” which police “suspected to be the Tiffany & Co. earrings” that would have to be collected “after they pass through Gilder’s system.” Goss additionally noted that when in jail, Gilder “spontaneously asked staff ‘Am I going to be charged with what’s in my stomach?”

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