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Cameras catch alleged stalker enter home
Hours before 24-year-old Phillip Thomas traveled from South Carolina to Tampa and broke into the home of WWE wrestler Sonya Deville, prosecutors say, he sent her hundreds of messages on social media that got more and more threatening.
TAMPA, Fla. - Hoping to add an extra layer of protection, Daria Berenato, known to her wrestling fans as Sonya Deville, asked a Tampa judge to grant a restraining order and keep her accused stalker, Phillip Thomas as far away from her as possible.
During Zoom hearing Thursday morning, Hillsborough County Judge Jessica Costello granted a temporary restraining order, effective while the criminal case moves forward.
She also had a stern warning for Thomas, who participated in the hearing,
“Two judges in this jurisdiction are ordering you to not have any contact, whatsoever, with Ms. Berenato. Do you understand that?” asked judge Costello.
“Yes, I do,” replied Thomas.
Deville described to a courtroom last Thursday her chilling encounter with Thomas inside her home.
"I saw a man standing there and he was in black clothes and a black mask and he was just standing there staring at me. I was terrified and started screaming. I don't know what I said something like, 'What the [expletive] do you want?'" said Deville, adding that Thomas was just a few feet away from her. "He just had this dead-pan demeanor and walked toward me with no fear."
According to prosecutors, Thomas drove 450 miles from his home in South Carolina to Deville's Lutz residence with a plan to kidnap her.
PREVIOUS: WWE star's alleged stalker to remain jailed after judge denies bond
In the early morning hours of August 16, detectives said Thomas cut a hole in the screen of a lanai on Deville's porch. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said Thomas waited on her porch for several hours, watching through windows until Deville and fellow WWE star Mandy Rose, whose real name is Amanda Saccomanno, went to bed.
Then, just before 3 a.m., detectives said Thomas broke in through a sliding glass door, triggering an alarm. Deville said she and Rose were able to escape from the home and call 911.
Home surveillance video showed Thomas walking around inside her home. Detectives said he was still there when deputies arrived, armed with a knife, duct tape, zip ties, mace, and burglary tools.
RELATED: Wrestler: Accused stalker sent hundreds of 'obsessive' messages before kidnap attempt
During last Thursday's bond hearing, Deville said she didn't know Thomas, but later discovered hundreds of disturbing and obsessive messages he'd sent her through social media over the last year and a half.
“I found hundreds of messages he sent from his account and two other accounts threatening my life. threatening my baby niece, saying he knew she was my world and he'd make sure she was dead," Deville said, "saying that he'd cut off my ex-girlfriend‘s head and deliver it to my doorstep and do various forceful sexual things to me and my family members. I was horrified."
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WWE’s Deville recalls encounter with alleged stalker
WWE's Sonya Deville told the court what happened the night a South Carolina man allegedly waited outside her place for hours, sent her threatening messages, and then broke into her home with the intention of kidnapping or holding her hostage.
Detectives said the messages continued the night Thomas broke into Deville’s home.
"I'm going to force you to do what I want."
"I've tried to warn you."
"When I get my hands on you I'll make sure you understand the pain you have put me through."
HCSO photo
A final message said, “Look outside I’m by the pool.“ It went on to say he’d kill the friend who was staying in Deville’s home that night.
Given the evidence, a judge presiding over the case denied Thomas' bond request. He'll now be held in jail until his trial.
Thursday's hearing centers around an order of protection against him, just in case he gets released in the future.