The Chicago Tribune reported Gonzalez was doing remodeling work in the alleged victim's west suburban home last Friday when he asked to use the bathroom, the Cook County state's attorney's office said.
Prosecutors said when he finished, the homeowner noticed her diamond ring was missing. She told her husband. Gonzalez denied the theft and began struggling with the husband, prosecutors said.
During the struggle, prosecutors allege, Gonzalez took the ring from his clothing and swallowed it.
Police took Gonzalez to a nearby hospital, where the ring showed up in an X-ray of his stomach, the Tribune said.
Cicero police recovered the ring -- but didn't say how they did it, the Tribune reported.
Gonzalez faces up to 3 years in prison if convicted of felony theft, and was being held at the Maywood Courthouse on $10,000 bail, the newspaper said.
