Florida troopers arrest man after he swallows 4 stolen diamonds later shown in X-ray, police say

Jaythan Lawrence Gilder was extradited to Orange County after Florida Highway Patrol troopers arrested him in Washington County. Gilder is accused of swallowing diamonds that he stole from a jewelry store last month in Orlando. (X-Ray courtesy of Washington County Sheriff's Office, File mug shot from Montgomery)

ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Highway Patrol troopers reported arresting a Texas man wanted in Orlando after he swallowed four stolen diamonds valued at nearly $770,000.

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To steal two pairs of diamond earrings on Feb. 26 from the Tiffany & Co. store at the Mall at Millenia, detectives reported Jaythan Gilder pretended to be a personal shopper for an NBA player.

Gilder, 32, also tried to steal a ring valued at $587,000, but an employee at the store made him drop it while trying to stop him from fleeing, according to the Orlando Police Department.

The Orlando Police Department released this image saying it shows Jaythan Gilder stealing from the Tiffany & Co. store at the Mall at Millenia on Feb. 26, in Orlando. (OPD)

Surveillance cameras captured the tag of Gilder’s getaway car, police said. Tag readers detected it on the Florida Turnpike and Interstate 10 before troopers stopped him at Washington County.

“I should have thrown them out the window,” Gilder said, according to an FHP trooper who was holding him in a cruiser, police said.

After the arrest near Chipley, Washington County corrections staff reported hearing Gilder say, “Am I going to be charged with what is in my stomach?”

The two clues prompted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to order an X-ray. Detectives suspect the foreign objects shown in the X-ray were the stolen diamonds.

Gilder, a convicted felon who has pending warrants in Colorado, was extradited to Orange County. He was facing felony charges of grand theft and robbery with a mask.

As of Wednesday evening, police officers had yet to recover the 4.86-carat diamond solitaire earrings valued at $160,000 and the 8.19-carat solitaire earrings valued at $609,500.


About the Author
Andrea Torres headshot

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

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