X-ray reveals stolen diamond earrings worth nearly US$770K inside suspect after arrest: police

This image provided by the Orlando Police Department shows an x-ray of what are believed to be two diamond earrings that were stolen from a Tiffany & Co. jewelry store in central Florida and were swallowed by the suspect. ( Orlando Police Department office via AP)

ORLANDO, Fla. — A suspected thief gulped down two pairs of diamond earrings during his arrest on the side of a Florida Panhandle highway last week, detectives say, leaving them with the unenviable task of waiting to “collect” the Tiffany & Co. jewelry worth nearly US$770,000.

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.

The 32-year-old man from Texas is accused of two felonies for forcibly stealing the earrings from an upscale Orlando shopping centre last Wednesday.

An X-ray of the suspect’s torso showed what the Orlando Police Department believed to be the diamond earrings — a white mass shining brightly against the grey backdrop of his digestive tract.

“These foreign objects are suspected to be the Tiffany & Co earrings taken in the robbery but will need to be collected ... after they are passed,” the department’s arrest report said. Handwriting on an order of commitment document filed Monday said “outside medical,” suggesting he was at a medical facility.

Orlando police spokeswoman Kaylee Bishop said Wednesday she was checking with the lead detective on whether the earrings had been recovered yet. The earrings’ status also wasn’t known to a deputy who answered the phone but wouldn’t give his name in the rural Panhandle county where the suspect was arrested near Chipley, Florida.

Handwriting on an order of commitment document filed Monday said “outside medical,” suggesting he was at a medical facility.

During the theft, the man allegedly told Tiffany sales associates he was interested in purchasing diamond earrings and a diamond ring on behalf of an Orlando Magic basketball player. Sales associates escorted the man to a VIP room where he could view the jewelry. A short time later, he jumped out of his chair, grabbed the jewelry and tried to force his way out of the door.

One of the sales associates was injured trying to block him but managed to knock the diamond ring, valued at $587,000, out of his hands.

Detectives obtained the license plate of the suspect’s car through shopping mall security footage and believe he was driving back to Texas. State troopers tracked the car from tag readers on the Florida Turnpike and Interstate 10 until he was pulled over for driving without rear lights in Washington County, almost 340 miles (550 kilometres) away, the Orlando police report said.

As he was being taken into custody, he swallowed several items troopers believed were the earrings.

The suspect was charged with first-degree felony grand theft and robbery with a mask, a third-degree felony. Court records showed no attorney for him, and he was listed as being in police custody in Orange County Florida, which is home to Orlando, as of Wednesday morning.

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Mike Schneider, The Associated Press