WWE Hall of Famer Tammy 'Sunny' Sytch seeks lower sentence due to disorder or disability
WWE Hall of Famer Tammy "Sunny" Sytch's defense attorney is seeking a lower sentence for her client because she requires specialized treatment for a mental disorder or for a physical disability, according to court records.
A prosecutor has already asked that Sytch be sentenced to the maximum penalty – 26 years in prison – for the crash that killed a man last year in Ormond Beach and called the former wrestling star “a danger to society” for repeated offenses of driving under the influence.
Sytch's lowest permissible sentence is 10.5 years in prison,according to state sentencing guidelines.
But the motion filed by her defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jessica Roberts, seeks a "downward departure," meaning a sentence below the 10.5 years.
The basis for that request is that Sytch "requires specialized treatment for a mental disorder that is unrelated to substance abuse or addiction or for a physical disability, and the defendant is amenable to treatment," according to the motion filed Friday by Roberts.
In a separate document, the defense attorney listed two witnesses: Dr. Jeffrey Danziger and Dr. John Matthew Fabian, indicating each one may testify.
Danziger is a forensic and clinical psychiatrist who has testified in a number of cases in Volusia County and has an office in Maitland. He testified in the case of Ellen Gilland, who is accused of shooting her terminally ill husband at AdventHealth Daytona Beach.
Fabian is a forensic and clinical psychiatrist in Austin, Texas.
The motions did not state what mental disorder the psychiatrists would testify about.
But when she entered her plea in the case, Sytch said she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder. She said among the medications she was taking was Prozac, an antidepressant.
Sytch, 50, pleaded no contest in August to one count of DUI manslaughter; driving while license suspended with death; four counts of DUI with damage to person; and two counts of DUI with damage to property.
Sytch is set to appear Nov. 27 for sentencing before Circuit Judge Karen Foxman at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach.
Sytch was driving a sedan on March 25, 2022, which crashed into a vehicle driven by Julian Fran Lasseter, who was stopped at a red light in the 100 block of N. Yonge Street in Ormond Beach. Lasseter died from his injuries.
Sytch’s blood-alcohol content was between 0.32 and 0.36 just less than an hour after the crash, the memo stated. That is four times the legal limit of 0.08, at which point a person is considered legally intoxicated. Sytch’s blood also showed signs of marijuana use.
An open bottle of Grey Goose vodka was found in the passenger seat of Sytch’s car after the crash, the memorandum stated.
Sytch was arrested on May 6, 2022.
“By continuously driving under the influence without a valid license, the defendant has demonstrated a wanton disregard for the law and a clear refusal to abide by the law. The state believes that the maximum sentence is the only way to protect the community from the defendant’s repetitive and dangerous actions,” wrote Assistant State Attorney Ashley Terwilleger in her motion arguing for the maximum sentence.
Sytch’s bond was revoked on May 13, 2022, after a judge found she was a threat to the community.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Tammy 'Sunny' Sytch seeks lower sentence due to disorder disability
