Sonya Deville is reportedly fighting to have her firearm charge thrown out.
As noted, TMZ Sports reported that Deville was arrested on Sunday, February 19 in Atlantic City, NJ for having a firearm in her vehicle without a proper permit in the state. Court records show that a valet found the gun in the glove box of the car Deville was driving, then the hotel then called police, and Deville was arrested. She was charged with second degree unlawful weapon possession – handgun without permit. Deville began carrying the weapon, her Second Amendment right, in 2020 after the home invasion and attempted kidnapping at her home in Florida. The gun she was arrested for was registered in Florida, but not New Jersey.
In an update, a new report from PWInsider notes that Deville was in Atlantic City to celebrate her recent engagement, according to multiple sources, when she picked up her car from the valet. The attendant went into the glove compartment to double-check the ownership of the vehicle as they did not have the valet ticket, and that’s when they saw the gun, then called police
It was noted that Deville never carried the firearm inside any buildings as it was left in her car at all times.
Word from within WWE is that Deville does not have any heat with officials over the incident. The company realizes why Deville would want to protect herself following the stalker that committed a home invasion and attempted kidnapping in 2020.
Furthermore, it was reported by Fightful that Deville is in the process of trying to get the charge dismissed.
Deville is scheduled to be in an Atlantic County courtroom for a hearing on the matter later this month.
Following the incident in 2020, Deville reportedly had help from a judge in expediting her permit in Florida so that she could protect herself. You may remember how then-24-year-old Phillip Arnold Thomas II traveled from his home in South Carolina to Deville’s home in Florida, and broke into her home in an attempt to kidnap her. He was charged with Attempted Armed Kidnapping, Criminal Mischief, Armed Burglary of a Dwelling, and Aggravated Stalking. The case was closed in April 2022. Thomas was found unfit to stand trial in May 2021, and ordered to be transferred to a mental health facility. He had been in jail since the initial arrest, and at one point was taken to the Florida State Hospital after being found incompetent to proceed with trial. It wasn’t clear as of April 2022 if Thomas was still hospitalized. He was evaluated for competency in February 2021, and that ended with a court-appointed expert and an expert hired by Thomas both finding that he suffered from mental illness, and should be involuntarily committed for treatment from the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Deville has worked multiple WWE live events since the arrest, and has appeared on SmackDown.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more.
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