It has been noted that the man, Phillip Thomas, who had attempted to kidnap WWE Superstar Sonya Deville in 2020 was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday.
As per Gloria Gomez of Fox 13 in Tampa, Phillip Thomas agreed to a plea deal that saw him plead guilty to attempted kidnapping, aggravated stalking, and armed burglary.
It had been noted that Thomas broke into Deville’s home in August 2020, armed with a knife, zip ties and duct tape. Deville ran away after spotting Thomas through a sliding glass door that had been opened, and he was subsequently arrested after entering the home.
Per Tony Marrero of the Tampa Bay Times, prosecutors said back in 2020 that Thomas admitted his intention was to pepper spray and subdue Deville, and prevent her from leaving her home “without her answering all of his questions.”
Deville said Thomas sent threatening messages to her, as well as her friends and family in the months prior to the break-in.
The 29-year-old Deville, who joined WWE as a contestant on the Tough Enough reality show in 2015, was a star on the rise at the time of the attempted kidnapping. It has been noted that she was in the midst of a storyline with real-life friend Mandy Rose, which was leading to a grudge match at SummerSlam.
Deville and Rose went through with the match, but Deville stepped away from WWE temporarily following it to focus on testifying against Thomas.
When Deville returned to WWE programming, it was as an on-screen authority figure rather than a wrestler, and she did not have her next match until 14 months after facing Rose at SummerSlam 2020.
Deville returned to her role as a full-time in-ring performer last year, and she is currently part of a tag team with Chelsea Green.
They competed in a four-way tag team match at WrestleMania 39 last month and were selected to Raw as part of the 2023 WWE draft over the weekend.
In addition to a 15-year prison sentence, Thomas was sentenced to 15 years of probation once he is released from prison.
