Cops: Robber Swallowed $770k In Diamonds

MARCH 4--A Texas man posing as a representative of an NBA player stole diamond jewelry worth about $770,000 from a Tiffany & Co. store, according to cops who arrested the suspect after he swallowed several solitaire earrings.

Investigators allege that Jaythan Gilder, 32, appeared late last month at a Tiffany store in The Mall of Millenia in Orlando, Florida claiming that he was there to negotiate a purchase on behalf of an unnamed Orlando Magic player, according to an arrest affidavit.

Gilder (seen at right) was escorted to a private viewing room where he was shown a $587,000 diamond ring, and two sets of diamond earrings (worth $609,500 and $160,000).

While discussing the purchase and a “wire transfer” with Tiffany sales associates, Gilder allegedly “jumped out of his seat,” grabbed the jewelry and bolted for the door. Gilder fought with a male employee as he sought to “leave the VIP room by violently pushing and pulling the doors open.”

During the scuffle, the worker succeeded in knocking the diamond ring out of Gilder’s hand, before the suspect “gets the doors open enough to escape, running through Tiffany & Co. around staff attempting to stop him.”  

Using store and mall surveillance video, a network of public safety cameras, and license plate readers, police identified a 2024 Mitsubishi Highlander as the suspected getaway vehicle. About six hours after the February 26 robbery, the rented SUV was pulled over as it “was taking the fastest route” back to Texas, cops allege.

Gilder, who was alone in the vehicle, “swallowed several items” as he was being taken into custody. A subsequent scan revealed Gilder’s stomach contained “foreign objects” that investigators believed to be the purloined jewelry. “These foreign objects...will need to be collected by [cops] after they are passed through Gilder’s system.”

A search of the Mitsubishi yielded a host of incriminating evidence, including the clothes worn by the robber and Tiffany price tags that “exactly matched the items taken in the robbery.” Additionally, the Tiffany worker who fought with the thief picked Gilder out of a police lineup.

While in custody at a county lockup, Gilder reportedly “spontaneously” asked jailers, “Am I going to be charged with what’s in my stomach?” Earlier, while Gilder was in the rear of a Florida Highway Patrol cruiser, a trooper heard him say, “I should have thrown them out the window.”

A check of Gilder’s lengthy rap sheet revealed that he was arrested in 2022 for a “near identical robbery/theft” from a Tiffany & Co. store in suburban Houston (where Gilder resides). He has also been charged in numerous other jewelry heists, from a $133,340 theft at a Houston business to pawn shop smash and grabs.

Charged with a pair of felonies, Gilder is being held without bond in the Orange County jail. He is also the subject of dozens of outstanding warrants in Colorado. (7 pages)