Man Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison For Sonya Deville Kidnap Attempt

Phillip Thomas planned to kidnap WWE star during harrowing home invasion.

by Michael Hamflett
Charlotte Flair Sonya Deville
WWE.com

The man who broke into Sonya Deville's home as part of an attempted kidnapping of the WWE star has been sentenced to 15 years in prison following a trial in Tampa.

Judge Barbara Twine-Thomas accepted a plea agreement after Thomas pled guilty to kidnapping, aggravated stalking and armed burglary charges. The 15 year prison sentence will be followed by a further 15 of probation.

Phillip Thomas broke into Deville's (real name Daria Berenato) home in August 2020. Per the police report, he cut a hole in a poolside screen, stepped through it, then entered the building itself after watching the occupant head to bed at around 2:43am. An alarm was triggered in the process and the homeowner and their guest - later confirmed to be fellow (now-former) WWE superstar Amanda "Mandy Rose" Saccomanno - left in a car, having caught a glimpse of Thomas.

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Thomas was found still in the house with zip ties, duct tape, a knife, mace, and more when police arrived on the scene. He confessed there and then that he planned on taking the occupant hostage, hence the charges.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett