US police recover $769,500 Tiffany diamond earrings after man swallows them

US' Orlando Police Department said after recovering diamond earrings from the Florida man, it took them back to Tiffany & Co where they were cleaned

In a case of theft that turned into a wait-and-watch game for the investigators, the Orlando Police Department in the US have recovered two sets of earrings valued at a total of $769,500 (£597,000) from a Florida man, two weeks after he allegedly stole and swallowed the jewellery.

 

The police department, in a post on X, said that the suspect, 32-year-old Jaythan Gilder from Florida, was taken to hospital where detectives monitored him for almost two weeks until the earrings, stolen from a Tiffany & Co store in Orlando, Florida, on February 26, passed through his system.

 

“Shoutout to our detectives in the Violent Crimes Unit! After a long and laborious investigation involving stolen jewelry, they were able to recover over $769,000 worth of earrings swallowed by the suspect. Detectives monitored Jaythan Gilder for more than a dozen days at the hospital before they were able to match the serial numbers on the jewelry with the items that were stolen from Tiffany & Co," it said.

 

 

Shoutout to our detectives in the Violent Crimes Unit!  After a long and laborious investigation involving stolen jewelry, they were able to recover over $769,000 worth of earrings swallowed by the suspect.  Detectives monitored Jaythan Gilder for more than a dozen days at… pic.twitter.com/GFoPjkCURo

— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) March 21, 2025

 

The accused is facing charges of robbery with a mask and first-degree grand theft and is lodged at the Orange County Jail.

 

Gilder posed as an assistant to a National Basketball Association (NBA) player to access a VIP room at the Tiffany store, where he was shown high-end jewellery. He is accused of distracting store employees before fleeing with two pairs of earrings. While escaping, he reportedly dropped a diamond ring valued at $587,000.

 

Later that day, police took Gilder into custody and reportedly saw him swallowing multiple objects suspected to be the stolen earrings. The police subsequently released an X-ray image showing a foreign object inside Gilder's abdomen.

 

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

 

According to Goss, the earrings were taken back to the Tiffany store where they were cleaned by the staff.

 

"Upon the earrings' return, the store's master jeweller confirmed that the serial numbers matched those of the stolen pieces," he said.

 

According to media reports, Gilder’s criminal history includes a 2022 robbery at a Tiffany store in Texas. He also has 48 outstanding warrants for his arrest in Colorado.