Man arrested on account of kidnapping at Lutz home of WWE star Sonya Deville

LUTZ – A South Carolina man was arrested early Sunday for trying to seduce a Lutz homeowner he had never met but followed on social media for years, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.

Investigators did not identify the victim, but the house where the suspect was arrested is owned by Daria Berenato, 26, who performed 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.

Thomas parked his car at 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 stood on the patio for three to four hours while looking through the windows and listening. At 2:43 a.m., after the homeowner went to bed, Thomas entered the house through a sliding glass door, and activated the alarm.

The homeowner looked out of a window, saw 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 carried a knife, plastic zip ties, duct tape, mace and other goods and told deputies he intended to take the homeowner hostage.

Thomas, listed on the prison book as a crew member of the Applebee, is charged with aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a residence, attempted armed abduction, and criminal misdemeanor. He was held without bail.

“Our deputies are discovering the suspect’s restless obsession with this homeowner he has never met but stalked on social media for years,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in the news release. “It’s horrible to think of all the ways this incident could have played out if the home alarm didn’t go off and alert the homeowner of a burglar.”

Anyone with information about the case was asked to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at (813) 247-8200.

On Twitter, an account in Thomas’ name, @ Phillip80400010, contains mostly posts about Sonya Deville’s recent activities, including retweets from her account Saturday about upcoming WWE events.

He defended Deville against online critics and wrote her encouraging messages on Twitter. On July 30, he responded to one of Deville’s tweets about her appearance at the GLAAD Media Awards, a nonprofit founded by LGBTQ people in the media. “I’m so proud of you Daria, you’re an inspiration to me,” his tweet said.

But on August 8, the writer appeared sad when he reached out to a psychiatrist who tweeted, “#Breaking news: UR perfect! ”

“But what if others think I am not and I have no self-confidence or self-worth?” he replied.

“I’m asking for your advice because I need a second opinion on something that can determine what happens next in my life.”