A Florida jewelry thief has been arrested for allegedly stealing over $700,000 in earrings and swallowing the evidence.
As reported by NBC News, Jaythan Gilder, 32, told employees at Tiffany & Co. in the Mall at Millenia at about 1:45 p.m. on February 26 that he was a representative of an Orlando Magic basketball player before being taken to a VIP room and shown several high-end pieces of jewelry, according to Orlando Police Detective Aaron Goss in an arrest warrant.
According to the court document, Gilder was shown a 5.61-carat diamond ring valued at $587,000, a set of 4.86-carat diamond earrings valued at $160,000, and a pair of 8.19-carat diamond earrings valued at $609,000.
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According to Goss, he snatched the three pieces of jewelry and wrestled with employees before dropping the ring and fleeing the store.
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According to the affidavit, mall security cameras captured photos of Gilder driving away in a blue Mitsubishi Outlander, which detectives tracked down to an Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Houston.
At 7:55 p.m., the Florida Highway Patrol reported that Gilder and the SUV were “taking the fastest route” back to Texas on Interstate 10 in Tallahassee, which is roughly 300 miles northwest of Orlando.
“As he was being taken into custody, Gilder swallowed several items,” the affidavit said.
The Washington County Jail’s scan of the suspect revealed “foreign objects in his stomach,” according to Goss.
“These foreign objects are suspected to be the Tiffany & Co. earrings taken in the robbery but will need to be collected … after they pass through Gilder’s system,” the affidavit said.
In jail, Gilder “spontaneously asked staff, ‘Am I going to be charged with what’s in my stomach?'” Goss wrote.
As Gilder was sitting in the patrol car, an arresting trooper heard him say, “I should have thrown them out the window,” according to police.
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According to investigators, the clothes Gilder wore for the crime were found in the SUV. He had “a piece of white gauze on his nose” in the store, and the bandage was discovered in the Outlander, according to the police.
Gilder was booked on suspicion of grand theft and robbery with a mask and remained in prison in Orange County on Wednesday.
According to police, the gauze on Gilder’s face did not cover any wounds and was intended to “disguise his true face/identity,” leading to the “robbery with a mask” charge.
It was unclear whether he had retained an attorney or had one assigned to him.
According to a statement from the police, Gilder had “48 separate warrants out of Colorado” and committed “a similar robbery” at a Tiffany & Co. in The Woodlands, Texas, in 2022.
When asked if the stolen earrings were found, an Orlando police official declined to answer. According to the department spokeswoman, police have “no additional information to share at this time.”
