ā The heistOctober 25, 2026
A jury has found a man guilty of robbery and grand theft over a Tiffany & Co. heist at an Orlando mall, according to the State Attorney's office. Police said he swallowed the stolen diamond earrings, worth $769,500, before troopers stopped him on a highway.
The short version
Where: Tiffany & Co., Mall at Millenia, Orlando, Florida
What was taken: Two pairs of diamond earrings
Value: $769,500, per Orlando police
Charges: Robbery and grand theft; jury returned guilty verdicts
Status: Sentencing date not yet announced
The private room and the grab
According to prosecutors and police, Jaythan Gilder walked into the Tiffany & Co. store at the Mall at Millenia on Feb. 26, 2025, and said he represented a professional basketball player. Prosecutors say he was taken to a private room to view jewelry. Police said he then grabbed earrings and used force against an employee while running out. Orlando police put the value of the stolen earrings at $769,500. The State Attorney's office described the loss as more than $760,000. ClickOrlando reported both figures from those sources.
Police said they tracked the getaway vehicle as it headed toward Texas. ClickOrlando reported officers learned the plates had been switched. WFTV, citing police, reported troopers stopped the vehicle on I-10 in Washington County, Florida, for driving without rear lights. Troopers said they saw him try to swallow items, and a body scan at the jail showed the earrings, according to those reports. Police said he later expelled the diamonds, and the store's master jeweler matched the serial numbers, ClickOrlando reported.
The verdict and the arrest report
The State Attorney's office said a jury found Gilder guilty of robbery and grand theft after a trial. ClickOrlando, citing the arrest report, said he told officers in the squad car, "I should have thrown them out the window." At the jail, it reported, he asked, "Am I going to be charged with what is in my stomach?" No response from Gilder to the verdict was included in the coverage reviewed. A sentencing date has not been announced, according to ClickOrlando.
Where the case stands
A jury returned guilty verdicts on robbery and grand theft, per the State Attorney's office.
No sentencing date has been announced.
Reports differ on the haul: $769,500 per Orlando police, more than $760,000 per prosecutors.
Police said the earrings were recovered and identified by serial number. Sentencing has not been scheduled.
Sources
ClickOrlando: Florida man behind Mall at Millenia's bizarre jewelry heist found guilty, October 22, 2026
This story is based on the records and reports linked above. Charges, lawsuits, and other accusations are claims, not findings of guilt or liability, unless the story says a court has ruled.