Florida man convicted after swallowing stolen Tiffany jewelry
A Florida man has been found guilty of robbery and grand theft after he stole nearly $800,000 in Tiffany & Co. jewelry from an Orlando mall and tried to hide the items by swallowing them. Jaythan Lawrence Gilder, 32, received the verdict on October 22, and his sentencing is scheduled for December 7, according to Florida State Attorney Monique Worrell’s office.
In late February 2025, Gilder impersonated a representative for an Orlando Magic player to gain access to a Tiffany & Co. store at the Mall of Millenia. He then took two pairs of diamond earrings worth a combined $769,500 and a $587,000 ring, fleeing the scene while injuring an employee. Authorities traced his escape vehicle to Texas, where he was pulled over for a traffic violation.
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When taken into custody, Gilder had already swallowed some of the stolen jewelry. A jailhouse scan revealed foreign objects in his stomach, and police later recovered three of the four earrings, along with two additional pieces, from his belongings. The last Tiffany earring was discovered on March 12, 2025.
Gilder’s criminal history includes a prior robbery at a Texas Tiffany store in 2022, as documented in court records.
