A US$25,000 (NT$823,000) diamond was found stuck in a shower drain at the prison housing the man accused of stealing it two years ago.
Bret Allen Langford, 39, allegedly asked the owner of a jewelry store to show him a 2-carat colorless diamond in April 2005.
Langford then grabbed the diamond and sped away, said sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.
Langford was arrested shortly after but the police did not retrieve the diamond. Langford was charged with commercial burglary and, after several transfers, ended up at a jail in Orange, California, where he awaited trial.
This week, an investigator representing Langford told jail officials to search the jailhouse drains if they wanted to find the diamond. Officials discovered the rock wedged in a screen beneath one of the facility's shower stalls.
Authorities said Langford told them he stole the diamond and swallowed and regurgitated the rock each time he was transferred.
But 14 months ago, just as Langford was about to be searched he threw the diamond into a shower stall and it fell down the drain.
Amormino suspects Langford came forward as part of a bargain he made with prosecutors. Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office, would not confirm such a deal.
Langford's trial is set to begin May 7 and the diamond is expected to be a featured piece of evidence. Then it will be cleaned and returned to the store.(AP)
一枚價值兩萬五千美元（新台幣八十二萬三千元）的鑽石，被發現卡在牢房的排水管中，兩年前住在這間牢房的男子被控盜取這枚鑽石。
三十九歲的布萊德．艾倫．蘭佛據說在二○○五年四月要求一家珠寶店的老闆向他展示一枚兩克拉的無色鑽石。
警長發言人吉姆．艾摩米諾表示，蘭佛搶走鑽石後，迅速逃逸。
蘭佛隨即遭逮捕，但警方並未取回鑽石。蘭佛以商業竊盜的罪名遭到起訴，幾經移送，最後在加州橘郡等候開庭審理。
本週一名代表蘭佛的偵辦人員向監獄官員透露，若想找到鑽石就去搜監獄的排水管。官員們於是發現鑽石卡在監獄一個淋浴間下方的排水管濾網中。
有關當局表示，蘭佛每次被移監都跟監所人員表示說他把偷來的鑽石吞下去又吐出來。
但十四個月前，正當蘭佛要被搜身時，他將鑽石丟進淋浴間，鑽石就掉進了排水管。
艾摩米諾懷疑蘭佛會透露鑽石下落，是和檢察官協議後的結果，橘郡地方檢察官辦公室女發言人法蘿．艾瑪米不願證實這項交易。
蘭佛一案將在五月七日開庭審理，這枚鑽石將成為重點證物，並且在清理後歸還店家。
（美聯社╱翻譯︰鄭湘儀）
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