Thief Who Swallowed $770K Worth of Jewelry ‘Expelled’ It Over 12 Days Later

There are jewelry heists, and then there’s whatever happened in Orlando. A man posing as an NBA assistant allegedly stole nearly $770,000 in Tiffany & Co. earrings—and then swallowed them. The earrings spent the next 12 days inside his body while detectives, doctors, and probably a few very tired cops waited for nature to take its course.

Jaythan Gilder, 32, walked into Tiffany’s at the Mall at Millenia in late March and asked to see luxury items in the private VIP room. Among them: a $575,000 ring and a pair of diamond earrings valued at roughly $780,000. Police say Gilder snagged the earrings and made a run for it, sparking a call about an armed robbery in progress.

He escaped the store and fled in a getaway vehicle, but didn’t make it far. One county south, Florida Highway Patrol pulled him over on unrelated traffic charges. During the stop, officers say they noticed he had something in his mouth—something he quickly swallowed. A body scan at the hospital confirmed what they suspected: the earrings were inside him.

“This case quickly turned into a marathon, not a sprint,” said VCU Detective Aaron Goss.

For more than 12 days, Gilder remained in a hospital room under police watch while investigators waited for the high-end evidence to resurface. At one point during the wait, Gilder reportedly told officers, “I should have thrown them out the window.”

Eventually, the earrings reemerged. They were recovered, sanitized (thoroughly), and matched to the original stolen items using their serial numbers.

The Orlando Police Department marked the end of the saga with a celebratory “highlight reel” on Facebook, sharing their story of the absolute absurdity.

He now faces charges of robbery with a mask and grand theft in the first degree. His rap sheet doesn’t stop in Florida—police say he previously robbed a Tiffany & Co. store in Texas in 2022 and currently has 48 outstanding warrants in Colorado. Yeah—Forty. Eight. 

In the end, the diamonds were recovered, the suspect was arrested, and the police got their win. But let’s be real: no one involved in this case is forgetting those 12 incredibly awkward, wildly expensive days anytime soon.