Thief’s plan to hide necklaces by swallowing them goes about as well as expected

Will Lerner
·Producer, Yahoo Entertainment

On December 10 in Safety Harbor, Florida, a home burglary was reported. Ok, remember that. The Tampa Bay Times reports that the very next day, in Clearwater, Florida, police noticed a car driving “recklessly.” When they pulled over the driver, 21-year-old Joseph Bravo Ramos, they looked up the 2005 Chevy Tahoe he was in and noticed it had been reported stolen. Mr. Ramos was arrested on charges of grand theft and driving without a valid license. He was also cited for reckless driving. Police took him to Pinellas County Jail and put Joseph through a SecurPass X-Ray. It’s then that they noticed something peculiar: a large dark mass near his stomach.

Used to detect contraband on arrested suspects, the SecurPass X-Ray, as New Times Broward-Palm Beach writes, “is able to pick up metals, pills, plastics, drugs, and any other thing that doesn't belong on a suspect's person. Or, as it was in this case, in a suspect's person.” So what was in Ramos? Two gold chain necklaces worth approximately $450.

It turned out that the Tahoe Ramos has been driving was stolen from the home in Safety Harbor. And in that car it seems Ramos had stolen, he had been carrying items taken from the home, including two gold necklaces. Mr. Ramos admitted to police that he had swallowed the necklaces. Why? It’s currently unconfirmed, but one would assume it was to hide the purloined materials.

Concerned over what the necklaces would do to Joseph Bravo Ramos, he was transported to Northside Hospital, where doctors decided to surgically remove them. WFLA NBC 8 News reports that the necklaces were taken to the Safety Harbor resident who had been robbed, and she confirmed them as hers.

Police then charged Ramos, who has been transported back to Pinellas County Jail, with a count of burglary and a count of tampering with evidence. The Tampa Bay Times notes Mr. Ramos has previously been convicted of grand theft and burglary. Yahoo Odd News has been unable to confirm whether he found the jewelry tasty or not.

More info: Tampa Bay Times , New Times Broward-Palm Beach, WFLA