Manteca Police Say Suspect Hid $100K Diamond Ring Inside Body

MANTECA (CBS13) — It's hard to picture a safer place to conduct a jewelry sale than inside an actual jewelry store at a busy strip mall on Saturday, but one Manteca man who was looking to sell his diamond ring ran into some trouble he didn't see coming.

"He is to be praised, honestly, in saying that I want to make you feel good about it and I want you to know it's a real thing," Caroline Elness, owner of Olive Oil Pantry, said.

Manteca Police said the man who owned the ring made arrangements to meet with a potential buyer at New York Diamonds to verify the ring was worth more than $100,000. A department spokesperson told CBS13 two men met the ring owner at the store, one of whom waited outside in a vehicle.

Upon the assessment of the ring by a jeweler at New York Diamonds, a spokesperson with the police department said the suspect inside grabbed the ring and ran out to the getaway car.

READ: Police Looking To Identify Woman Who Bought Car With Stolen Identity

A witness called police with a description of the suspects. CHP was able to locate the suspect in nearby French Camp. The suspects have been arrested on charges of burglary, grand theft and conspiracy. Both are still in custody on a $300,000 bond.

"Can't be too trustworthy especially with high-priced items. Somebody is always looking for that," a woman named Carole told CBS13.

But the police said they couldn't find it inside the car.

"He probably ate it or swallowed or something," Nicole Mead said.

Police said the department had to obtain a search warrant, not for the suspects' homes or car, but for his body since the ring had been concealed internally.

ALSO: Man Accused Of Stealing $19K Ring In Tracy

"I honestly, I don't know what to say to that but, eww!" Elness said with laughter.

"That's going above and beyond being crazy to do that," Mead said.

Some said that the shiny ring with this new dark story could still find a new rightful owner but, there will need to be disclosure about where the ring has been.

"Who's going to want that ring without sterilizing it first?" Carole said.

"That I would disclose that it was somewhere you know that might want to know," Elness said.

There was a similar incident involving a would-be buyer of a ring stealing it from the owner in Tracy. Tracy and Manteca police told CBS13 that it's believed these two incidents aren't connected at this time.