A South Carolina man finds himself facing numerous charges after breaking into the Florida home of WWE Superstar Sonya Deville in an alleged kidnapping attempt.
Investigators did not identify the victim, but the home where the suspect was arrested is owned by Daria Berenato, 26, who performs for WWE under the name Sonya Deville and stars in the E! cable channel reality TV series Total Divas.
Phillip A. Thomas II, 24, began planning the abduction eight months ago, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Thomas parked his car around midnight at Idlewild Church off Dale Mabry Highway and Van Dyke Road in Lutz and walked to a home on Pine Hammock Boulevard in the Promenade at Lake Park subdivision, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Thomas cut a hole in the patio screen and remained on the patio three to four hours while watching and listening through the windows. At 2:43 a.m., after the homeowner had gone to bed, Thomas entered the home through a sliding glass door, activating the alarm.
The homeowner looked out a window, spotted Thomas on the property, and fled with a guest in a car. The homeowner called 911.
Thomas was still in the house when deputies arrived. 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.
Thomas, who is listed as being an Applebee’s crew member, has been charged with aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, attempted armed kidnapping, and criminal mischief. He was being held without bail.
“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.”
A Twitter account in Thomas’s name, @Phillip80400010, is focused almost exclusively with messages about Sonya Deville’s latest activities, including retweets from her account Saturday about upcoming WWE events.