Detectives recover 4 diamond earrings 2 weeks after suspect swallowed them during arrest

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Detectives have recovered four diamond earrings from a suspected thief two weeks after he gulped the Tiffany & Co. jewelry worth nearly $770,000 during his arrest on the side of a highway in the Florida Panhandle, authorities said Friday.

The last of the four earrings stolen from the Tiffany store in Orlando was recovered from the suspect last week, the Orlando Police Department said Friday.

Three of the earrings were recovered two days before that, along with two other unidentified diamond earrings. The suspect was transferred from a jail to a hospital while detectives waited to collect the evidence, police officials said in a statement.

The four stolen earrings matched the serial numbers from the jewelry taken from the Tiffany store last month, detectives said.

After the jewelry was recovered, the Texas man was taken to the Orange County Jail where he faces charges of robbery with a mask and first-degree grand theft.

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.

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 kilometers) away, the Orlando police report said.

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.