He really ate the rich.
A Florida man has been convicted of snatching and swallowing over $760,000 worth of Tiffany earrings he stole during a strong-arm jewel heist.
A jury found Jaythan Gilder guilty of robbery and grand theft for the bizarre robbery of a Tiffany & Co. store at the Mall at Millenia in Orlando in February 2025, State Attorney Monique Worrell announced on Thursday.
Gilder, then 32, posed as a representative for an Orlando Magic player to gain access to pricey jewelry before grabbing two sets of earrings — one 4.86-carat set worth $160,000 and another 8.10-carat set worth $609,500, WFLA reported.
The thief also “used force against a store employee” as he fled the luxury store, prosecutors said.
Harrowing dashcam video shows Florida Highway Patrol troopers battling to stop Gilder from swallowing the hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of earrings to conceal the evidence.
He then started thrashing around as three astonished officers wrestled him to the ground and demanded he “open his mouth,” according to the clip.
Gilder was stopped on Interstate 10 and charged with resisting arrest — but not theft, because the stolen earrings couldn’t be found. But while in jail, Gilder “spontaneously” asked staff if he was going to be charged “with what’s in my stomach,” the arrest report reviewed by WFLA read.
A trooper in the Orange County jail reportedly overheard the brazen thief say, “I should have thrown them out the window.”
After undergoing a body scan, detectives spotted the pricey earrings passing through Gilder’s digestive tract — forcing him to stay in a hospital for nearly two weeks before the jewels were expelled from his system.
The items were then cleaned by “Tiffany’s Master Jeweler” and turned over to a company security manager, according to a police report.
“This case involved not only a significant financial loss, but also the safety of employees who were confronted with violence while simply doing their jobs,” Worrell said in a statement.
“This verdict sends a clear message that violence and theft will not be tolerated in our community. I commend the prosecutors who presented this case, along with the Orlando Police Department and all law enforcement partners whose work helped bring this defendant to justice,” she said.
“Our office remains committed to holding individuals accountable when their actions threaten the safety of others and undermine the security our community deserves.”
Gilder is slated to be sentenced on Dec. 7.
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