Jaythan Gilder arrived at the Tiffany jewelry store at the Mall at Millenia in Orlando at 1:45 p.m. on February 26, 2025. He said he was an agent for an Orlando Magic player, and they took him to a VIP room.
They placed a ring worth 587.000 dollars and two pairs of diamond earrings worth 160.000 and 609.000 on the table. He grabbed all three pieces, struggled with the employees, dropped the ring, and fled with the earrings. Cameras captured the getaway car, a blue Mitsubishi rented in Houston.
The Highway Patrol stopped him almost six hours later on I-10 in Tallahassee, about 300 miles away, on the route to Texas. While they were restraining him, according to the affidavit, he swallowed several objects. A scan at the jail showed foreign objects in his stomach.
The jewelry returned to police custody between March 10 and 12 and was identified by serial number. A jury has now found him guilty of robbery and grand theft.