Florida police have successfully retrieved four diamond earrings from a suspected thief who swallowed the jewelry valued at nearly £600,000 during his arrest. The incident took place two weeks prior, and detectives were able to recover the items after monitoring the suspect in the hospital.
The man had approached staff at a Tiffany & Co. store in February, claiming he was interested in purchasing earrings and a diamond ring for an Orlando Magic basketball player. After being taken to a VIP room to view the collection, he suddenly jumped up, grabbed the jewelry, and attempted to escape, according to the Orlando Police Department.
Officers identified the suspect’s vehicle using security footage from the shopping center and tracked it down. He was pulled over for driving without rear lights in Washington County, approximately 340 miles away from the store.
While en route to the police station, the suspect was overheard saying, “I should have thrown them out the window,” and later questioned jail staff, “Am I going to be charged with what is in my stomach?”
Some of the earrings were recovered shortly after the incident, but the suspect was taken to the hospital for monitoring while police awaited collection of the remaining items. The four recovered diamond earrings, valued at $770,000 (£596,000), matched the serial numbers of the jewelry stolen from Tiffany’s last month.
Following the recovery, the suspect was taken to Orange County Jail, where he faces charges of robbery with a mask and first-degree grand theft.
Credit: Sky News
