A man was arrested on Sunday for abusing the home of WWE star Sonya Deville.
Phillip A. Thomas was arrested and charged with three counts – attempted armed robbery, armed robbery and aggravated stalking – at a home in Lutz, Florida, according to police. Thomas is also charged with felony criminal mischief. He is being held without restraint.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest but did not release the homeowner’s name. ESPN confirmed through public records that the house is owned by Deville of WWE, whose real name is Daria Berenato.
Police said Thomas had been planning the felony for eight months. Sheriff Chad Chronister said Thomas ‘stalked the suspected victim’ on social media for years. ‘According to a news release from Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Thomas entered the house at 2:43 a.m. ET. Sunday, after the homeowner went to bed, through a back-glazed glass door.
The entrance triggers an alarm, which caused the homeowner to look out the window and see Thomas on the property. The homeowner and a guest fled the house in a car and called 911. Thomas was still in the residence when officers arrived, per the release. He carried a knife, plastic zip ties, duct tape, mace and “other personal items.”
The release stated that Thomas had cut a hole in a patio screen earlier in the night and stayed there for three to four hours, watching and listening to what was happening in the house through the windows. Thomas went to Florida from his home in South Carolina, and told deputies that he planned to take the homeowner hostage, per the release.
“Our deputies are discovering the suspect’s disturbing obsession with this homeowner he has never met but stalked on social media for years,” Chronister said in a statement. “It’s horrible to think of all the ways this incident could have played out if the house alarm had not gone off and alerted the homeowner of an intruder. Our deputies arrived within minutes and arrested this man who was clearly on a mission to harm to indicate. “
Thomas, 24, is listed on his prison records as an Applebee crew member. Berenato, 26, is starring in WWE’s SmackDown program on Fox, as well as the E! network reality show “Total Divas.” The New Jersey native is the first openly gay female wrestler in WWE history.
Berenato, a former MMA fighter, has been with WWE since WW. WWE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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