# Man posing as NBA player representative allegedly swallowed Tiffany jewelry: police

A man in Florida who was allegedly posing as a representative for an NBA player is being investigated for swallowing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Tiffany jewelry, police said. Jaythan Gilder, 32, of Houston, Texas is accused of robbing a Tiffany store in Orlando, Florida on Feb. 26. According to court documents reviewed by USA TODAY, Gilder allegedly entered the store and told staff that his name was Shawn.

He is then alleged to have told employees that he was negotiating a sale on behalf of a player on the Orlando Magic, though court records did not specify which player Gilder was talking about. Court documents said Gilder was “inquiring about some diamond earrings and a diamond ring.”

While inside the room, Gilder jumped out of his seat and grabbed the jewelry. As he was trying to escape the room, a store associate tried and failed to stop him, court records said.

During the scuffle, Gilder dropped the diamond ring but managed to escape the store and left the mall with the two pairs of earrings.

Police said Gilder was seen in surveillance cameras entering a car which was traced using toll records and public safety cameras. The car was then stopped by the Florida Highway Patrol hours later.



A man posing as an NBA representative also allegedly swallowed hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of Tiffany jewelry, police said. 

A live scan at the Washington County Jail showed “several foreign objects” in Gilder’s stomach.

In response, Gilder reportedly asked jail staff, “Am I going to be charged with what's in my stomach?"

The answer was yes, as Gilder now faces one charge of grand theft in the first degree and robbery with a mask. Police also said Gilder has had a history of committing similar robberies, as his records show an arrest for theft at another Tiffany store in Texas in 2022. Gilder also had 48 “failure to appear" warrants in Colorado.

USA TODAY was not able to immediately find an attorney representing Gilder for comment.

_Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_._

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