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As PWInsider.com reported yesterday, Phillip Arnold Thomas II, who was arrested in Sonya Deville's Florida home early Sunday morning will be going before the court in Tampa this Thursday for a pre-trial detention hearing to determine whether he should be held without bail or if he should be allowed to post bond and be allowed out of jail while waiting for his case to go to trial.
The District Attorney's office filed the following motion asking the court to hold Thomas without bail on 8/17:
COMES NOW, the state of Florida by and through the undersigned attorney, pursuant to Florida Statue 907.041, and Rule 3.132, to respectfully petition this Honorable Court to order Pretrial Detention and as grounds therefore would show:
There is substantial probability, based on the Defendant’s past and present patterns of behavior, the criteria set forth in Florida Statue 903.046, and other relevant facts that Pretrial Detention is needed:
1. The Defendant is presently charged with dangerous crimes within the meaning of Florida Statute 907.041(4), to wit: Aggravated Stalking, Armed Burglary of a Dwelling, and Attempted Armed Kidnapping.
2. The basis for the these charges is as follows: On August 16, 2020, the defendant drove nearby to the residence of victim Daria Berenato and Amanda Sacomanno, a residential house with a roof over it, in Hillsborough County, Florida, parked at a local church, and walked approximately a third of a mile to the victim’s residence, at or about 0243 hours. He approached a patio screen at the residence and cut a hole in the patio screen with a knife and entered the lanai, in possession of plastic zip ties, duct tape, pepper spray (mace), window punches, and other items. The defendant entered through an unsecured patio glass door. This caused the residential alarm to sound. Mrs. Berenato, alerted, went to the door and saw the defendant in the residence with a knife in his hand and the pepper spray in his other hand. Both victims fled the residence. The defendant remained in the residence, as he believed that the two were upstairs hiding, and he was waiting for them to come downstairs. The defendant was located in the residence and taken into custody.
Victim Mrs. Berenato is a wrestler with a large online following. Due to her online settings, messages from non friends are sent to a folder, and are generally not read by Mrs. Berenato. Research of this folder and others developed multiple messages from the defendant, up to 5 years, in which the defendant expressed his desire to meet with the victim, expressed his obsession with the defendant, of a progressively more threatening manner. The defendant had attempted to contact Mrs. Berenato on multiple social media platforms over the course of years and had become increasingly more agitated when the victim did not respond. At least one of these messages was made while walking to the house, or the lanai or patio itself.
Post Miranda, the defendant admitted traveling from South Carolina on August 15, 2020, walking to the residence while carrying a backpack with zip ties, duct tape, pepper spray, and window punches, extra clothes, and a condom. The defendant stated that he watched the victims from the lanai for a number of hours prior to entering the residence. The defendant admitted that his intention was to take Mrs. Berenato hostage, by spraying her pepper spray (mace), binding her hands with the zip ties, and wrapping duct tape around her arms to prevent her from fighting back. He stated that he intended to keep Mrs. Berenato hostage, preventing her from attending a planned event scheduled for the following week, and that he was not going to leave her residence without her answering all of his questions.
The defendant was identified by his South Carolina Driver’s License.
3. Lesser forms of restraint other than restraint without bond will not suffice to protect either the victim or the safety of the public, given the defendants’ long term obsession with the victim, his anger as indicated in the messages, the lengths to which he planned and conducted an attempted kidnapping, including driving from South Carolina, and lying in wait at the victim's residence.
Thomas remains jailed at Hillsborough County Jail in Florida, having been charged with Aggravated Stalking, Armed Burglary of a Dwelling, Attempted Armed Kidnapping, and Criminal Mischief. He has been assigned a public defender and invoked his fifth amendment right to remain silent yesterday.
Deville has been awarded a temporary order of protection against Thomas and will be going to court on 8/27 to gain a permanent order against him.
Tampa authorities stated that Thomas had allegedly been planning to kidnap Deville for months. When authorities arrived at Deville's home, Thomas was still in the home and was found "carrying a knife, plastic zip ties, duct tape, mace and other items and told deputies he was planning to take the homeowner hostage." After allegedly hiding outside on her porch, Phillip entered the home, tripping a security alarm. When Deville saw him, according to the petition she filed yesterday, she realized he was there for her, not to rob the home, when he approached her. She and fellow WWE star Mandy Rose escaped the home and called 911. Thomas was apprehended still in Deville's home.
In her petition, Deville wrote that she later watched via her security camera footage that Thomas had followed her, "but he thought I ran up the stairs, leaving me and my friend just enough time to escape.” Deville, after receiving Thomas' name from authorities, found hundreds of thousands of messages from him on her social media accounts. In her petition, Deville wrote the messages, "were obsessive, suicidal, idolizing, saying, ‘You are the only person I will ever love." Deville also believed she discovered messages from a second account that included a warning that read, "I found your home address.” The second account also featured threats against her family members and friends, who were mentioned by name.
Deville's petition stated that the second account sent her a message via social media on Sunday morning at 12:16 AM, just 27 minutes before Thomas invaded her home, reading, “Look outside, baby, by your pool. I’m here. I’m gonna kill that little b**** you have inside with you.”
Sunday night, Deville commented, writing on Twitter, "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."
Thomas' pre-trial hearing is currently scheduled for 4:30 PM EST on 8/20.
Special thank you to Richard Trionfo for all his help on this story.
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