TEXAS, USA — Four diamond earrings have finally been recovered from a suspected thief weeks after swallowing them.
According to the Associated Press, the man gulped down the Tiffany & Co. jewelry during his arrest on the side of a highway in Florida.
Authorities said during the theft, the man allegedly told a Tiffany employee that he was interested in buying diamond earrings and a diamond ring on behalf of an Orlando Magic basketball player.
The employee took the man to a VIP room where he could view the jewelry. He later jumped out of a chair and grabbed the jewelry before forcing his way out of the door.
The man’s license plate was obtained by authorities through mall security footage as detectives believed he was driving back to Texas. That’s when state troopers used tag readers on the Florida Turnpike and Interstate 10 to track him down.
According to the Associated Press, the man was eventually pulled over for driving without rear lights about 340 miles away. After being put inside a patrol car, the man allegedly said, “I should have thrown them out the window.” An arrest report states he later asked jail staff, “Am I going to be charged with what is in my stomach?”
The man would be transferred from jail to the hospital while detectives waited to collect evidence. Three of the earrings were recovered along with two unidentified diamonds. The last earring was recovered last week before authorities returned the suspect to jail.
Detectives said all four stolen earrings matched serial numbers from the jewelry taken from the Florida Tiffany store. The man faces charges of robbery with a mask and first-degree grand theft.