A Florida police video captured the moment officers wrestled with Jaythan Gilder, 32, to stop him from swallowing four diamond earrings stolen from Tiffany & Co. with a total value of $770,000. Stopped on Interstate 10 after a theft in Orlando, Gilder refused medical treatment and X-rays. A subsequent scan in jail, however, revealed the presence of the valuables in his stomach.
Prior to his arrest, Gilder was driving a rented Mitsubishi Outlander. Officers had spotted him thanks to a tip from Orlando police investigating a Feb. 26 robbery at a Tiffany & Co. store in the Mall at Millenia.
Gilder expelled the jewels two weeks later. The man, who has a history of similar offenses, is now being held without the possibility of bail. Last week, a Florida judge denied two motions seeking his temporary release to attend his mother’s funeral, scheduled for June 20 in Texas. His attorney, Sara Goodin, said the client suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, and despairs at not being able to be present with his family at such a painful time.
According to a police report, the jewelry was cleaned by a Tiffany “master goldsmith” and returned to a company security officer. After having spent two weeks in Gilder’s stomach, the diamonds are allegedly back on the market–if not already sold.
