A Florida man’s attempt at a high-stakes jewelry heist took an unexpected turn when he swallowed stolen Tiffany & Co. earrings worth $769,000 and later asked police if he could be charged for “what’s in my stomach.”
Jaythan Lawrence Gilder, 32, allegedly posed as a representative for an Orlando Magic player to gain access to expensive jewelry at a Tiffany & Co. store in Orlando on February 26.
According to police, he grabbed two sets of diamond earrings—one valued at $160,000 and another at $609,500—before fleeing the store.
Gilder was apprehended by Orlando police on Interstate 10 and initially charged with resisting arrest. However, the stolen earrings were nowhere to be found—until he made a surprising admission while in custody. “Am I going to be charged with what’s in my stomach?” he reportedly asked jail staff.
A body scan revealed foreign objects inside his digestive tract, which authorities suspect to be the missing earrings. Law enforcement officials are now waiting for the jewelry to pass through his system before officially recovering the stolen items.
A trooper in the Orange County jail allegedly overheard Gilder say, “I should have thrown them out the window,” hinting at his failed escape plan.
Gilder, who has 48 outstanding warrants in Colorado and was previously charged in a 2022 Tiffany & Co. robbery in Texas, now faces first-degree grand theft and robbery charges.
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