Sonya Deville Kidnapping Suspect Mugshot Photos Revealed, Pre-Trial Hearing Scheduled
Phillip A. Thomas II remains incarcerated in the Hillsborough County Jail in Florida after trying to abduct WWE Superstar Sonya Deville early on Sunday morning.
Court records show that Thomas has been charged with Attempted Armed Kidnapping, Criminal Mischief, Armed Burglary of a Dwelling, and Aggravated Stalking.
A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for this Thursday, August 20 at 4:30pm ET. The hearing will determine if Thomas should be held without bail or if he will be allowed to post bond and remain out on bail while he waits to go to trial. It's likely that he will remain in jail because he is from out of state.
As noted, Thomas, a 24 year old male from South Carolina, arrived in Florida around midnight Sunday morning and parked his car near Deville's home, in the parking lot of Idlewild Church off Dale Mabry Highway and Van Dyke Road in Lutz, FL. Thomas walked to a nearby subdivision where Deville's home is, and then cut a hole in her patio screen and waited for hours, watching and listening through windows. Thomas watched as Deville went to bed around 2:45am, and then tried to enter the home through a sliding glass door. This triggered Deville's security system, and Deville looked out a window to see Thomas on her property. She and a guest immediately left the home in a car, and called 911. Police arrived and found Thomas still in the home. He was found in possession of a knife, zip ties, mace, duct tape and other items.
Thomas admitted to police that he planned to take the homeowner, Deville, hostage. He also admitted to planning the crime for the past 8 months. Thomas' social media pages indicate that he was obsessed with Deville, and had been trying to interact with her for some time, and had interacted with some of her fans.
A jail booking sheet notes that Thomas works at an Applebee's where he is from.
"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 a 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."
For those who missed it, Deville took to Twitter on Sunday night and issued a statement on the incident.
"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. [black heart emoji," she wrote.
Stay tuned for updates on the case.
Below is Deville's full tweet along with photos police took of Thomas after arresting him:
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. ??
? Daddy Deville (@SonyaDevilleWWE) August 17, 2020