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Man who plotted WWE Superstar Sonya Deville's kidnapping reportedly arrested

A resident of South Carolina named Phillip A. Thomas II, aged 24 was arrested outside of the home of WWE Superstar Sonya Deville (real name, Daria Berenato) on Sunday, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

By Raja
Sonya Deville (right) with former tag team partner Mandy Rose (image courtesy WWE.com)

Bengaluru, August 17: A resident of South Carolina named Phillip A. Thomas II, aged 24 was arrested outside of the home of WWE Superstar Sonya Deville (real name, Daria Berenato) on Sunday, according to the Tampa Bay Times. He was reportedly trying to abduct Deville who the cops were able to catch after an emergency report was done.

Thomas has been charged with aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, attempted armed kidnapping, and criminal mischief by the police. He is currently in custody with non-bailable allegations.

According to information provided by local police, Thomas was well-planned on this abduction that he started sketching, near about eight months ago.

Early Sunday morning, he waited on the property for three to four hours. He cut a hole in the patio screen to observe when the homeowner goes to bed. After that, he entered the house through a sliding glass door, which activated an alarm.



Police informed that Thomas was spotted by the homeowner, who opted to leave the premise with a guest in a car before dialing 911. Thomas was still waiting on the property when the police arrived. As spotted by them, he "was carrying a knife, plastic zip ties, duct tape, mace, and other items, and told deputies he was planning to take the homeowner hostage."

"Our deputies are unveiling the suspect's disturbing obsession with this homeowner who he had never met, but stalked on social media for years," Sheriff Chad Chronister said in the news release. "It's frightening to think of all the ways this incident could have played out had the home alarm not gone off and alerted the homeowner of an intruder."

Sonya Deville took to her Twitter handle to issue the following statement on the incident,

"Thank you everyone for your love and concern. A very frightening experience but thankfully everyone is safe. A special thank you to Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office for their response and assistance."



Going by his Twitter account, Philip Thomas II has been following Sonya Deville on the social media platform for years. He appeared to be an obsessed fan of the Total Divas reality show star as his Twitter timeline was filled with nothing but Sonya Deville content. He only shared retweets and other interviews of Deville. Although no indication of malice was spotted, he was planning something big.



WWE Superstar and social worker, Titus O'Neil is in touch with his colleague since the traumatizing incident has occurred. If verbally attacking and body-shaming WWE stars were noticed as cruel acts, this kidnapping event points out how soft targets they've now become.

Sonya Deville herself is a proud member of the LGBTQ community who is trying to raise social awareness around the USA by releasing merchandise and arranging campaigns. So the incident has been receiving major mainstream attention. Currently, she is scheduled to face her former Fire n Desire tag team partner Mandy Rose in a Hair vs Hair match at SummerSlam 2020, this Sunday.
Story first published: Monday, August 17, 2020, 13:37 [IST]
Other articles published on Aug 17, 2020