An Orlando police found two sets of earrings worth a combined $769,500 (£597,000) after an alleged thief swallowed them and he only helped the detectives to find those stolen earrings.
Jaythan Gilder, 32, swallowed the Tiffany & Co. diamond earrings while he was taken into custody. While he was being transported to jail, officials heard Gilder saying, “I should have thrown them out the window,” CBS News reported.
At the jail, Gilder allegedly asked staff, “Am I going to be charged with what’s in my stomach?” These clues gave a green nod to police suspicious around alleged thief swallowing the earrings.
Police later saw an x-ray that appeared to show an individual’s abdomen with a foreign object inside. On 12 March, police said they recovered the fourth Tiffany & Co. earring.
According to the officials, Gilder allegedly expressed interest to Tiffany staff about purchasing diamond earrings and a ring, claiming to represent an Orlando Magic basketball player. Staff escorted him to a VIP area for viewing. Subsequently, he suddenly leapt from his seat, seized the jewellery and attempted to force his exit.
Investigators identified the suspect’s vehicle registration through shopping centre surveillance footage and believed he was heading towards Texas. Highway patrol tracked the vehicle using tag readers on the Florida Turnpike and Interstate 10 until stopping him for non-functioning rear lights in Washington County, approximately 340 miles (550 kilometers) away, according to Orlando police records.
A state trooper reported hearing the suspect state, “I should have thrown them out the window,” whilst in the patrol vehicle, and at Washington County jail, he enquired, “Am I going to be charged with what is in my stomach?” as documented in the arrest report.
