A Central Florida man accused for swallowing jewely after a bizarre jewelry heist at Mall at Millenia last year has been found guilty, according to the State Attorney’s Office on Thursday.
In a release, State Attorney Monique Worrell said a jury found the man — identified as Jaythan Gilder — guilty of robbery and grand theft following the theft, which took place at the mall’s Tiffany & Co. store in Orlando.
“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. “This verdict sends a clear message that violence and theft will not be tolerated in our community.”
WHAT HAPPENED?
The incident was first reported in February 2025, when Gilder posed as a representative negotiating a jewelry purchase on behalf of a professional basketball player, officials explained.
But during this act, he grabbed merchandise valued at over $760,000 and tried to force his way out of the store, the release says.
After he fled the scene, law enforcement quickly tracked his vehicle to Washington County in the Florida panhandle. Officers discovered he had switched license plates, prompting a notification to the Florida Highway Patrol.
However, when troopers managed to pull him over, they noticed Gilder trying to swallow items, officials said.
Despite their efforts to prevent it, he managed to ingest the items, which were later identified as the stolen earrings during a body scan at the Washington County Jail, police said.
Inside the vehicle, investigators found a backing from one of the earrings, imprinted with the Tiffany & Co. logo, which helped confirm the jewelry’s origin.
In the squad car, a state trooper heard the suspect say, “I should have thrown them out the window,” and at the Washington County jail he asked staff, “Am I going to be charged with what is in my stomach?” according to the arrest report.
After the suspect “expelled” the diamonds “from his system,” they were returned to Tiffany’s for cleaning and verification, police said. The store’s master jeweler confirmed that the diamonds matched the serial numbers of those stolen earlier.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Following Gilder’s conviction, sentencing is set to come at a later date.
No additional information has been provided at this time.