Jaythan Lawrence Gilder has been found guilty of stealing nearly $800,000 (£600,149) of Tiffany & Co jewellery from a shopping mall and then swallowing the earrings when stopped by state troopers. Authorities had to wait two weeks for the items to pass through his system before confirming they matched the stolen goods.
Theft at Tiffany & Co in Florida
On February 26, 2025, Gilder stole four earrings from Tiffany & Co in Florida, USA, after posing as a representative of a member of the Orlando Magic basketball team. He arrived at the jewellery store without an appointment and pretended to be interested in purchasing the items.
After being taken to a private room to view the jewellery, he allegedly became violent, grabbing the items and fleeing towards the food court, injuring an employee in the process. When he was intercepted by Florida Highway Patrol, he bizarrely swallowed the items in an attempt to hide the evidence.
Recovery and Additional Charges
Following his arrest, a scan taken of his stomach when he was in jail showed the presence of “foreign objects”, providing proof of the jewellery. Authorities monitored Gilder for two weeks, waiting for the objects to pass through his system. Once the items were retrieved, they confirmed that they were a match for the stolen goods.
Gilder, who was 32 at the time of the theft, also attempted to take a ring worth $1.3 million (£975,195). He also allegedly committed a “near-identical robbery” from another Tiffany & Co. in Texas in 2022 and has 48 outstanding arrest warrants in the state of Colorado. Court documents said Gilder was “inquiring about some diamond earrings and a diamond ring”.
Related Incident Involving Footballer's Wife
This comes after Melanie Kamayou, the wife of Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana, was robbed at knifepoint outside an Italian restaurant in Alderley Edge. The Daily Star previously reported how Kamayou was allegedly robbed of a gold Rolex watch and a designer handbag in the incident.
Kamayou relocated to Turkey after the terrifying incident. She has been married to Onana since 2023, and the couple have a son together. However, the couple have been keen to protect their child's privacy and kept him out of the public eye. Melanie followed her husband to Turkey when he joined Trabzonspor on loan in 2025, and the deal has since been extended for a second season.
