WWE Hall of Famer Tammy 'Sunny' Sytch enters not guilty plea in DUI causing death case

Frank Fernandez, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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WWE Hall of Famer Tammy "Sunny" Sytch entered a plea of not guilty on Tuesday to DUI causing death and other charges stemming from a deadly traffic crash in Ormond Beach.

Ormond Beach police said that on March 25, Sytch's vehicle failed to stop and crashed into the back of a stopped car at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Granada Boulevard, leading to the death of Julian LaFrancis Lasseter, 75.

Sytch had a blood alcohol content of .280, which is 3½ times the legal limit of .08 set by Florida law, police said.

Police also found an unsealed bottle of vodka in her car.

A test also detected THC in Sytch’s blood, indicating she had been using marijuana sometime before the crash, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Besides the DUI causing death, Sytch, 49, was charged with one count of driving with a suspended revoked license causing death/serious injury; four counts of DUI with "damage to person;" and two counts of DUI with damage to property. The charges add up to a potential 26 years in prison if convicted on all counts and with the sentences running consecutively.

Tammy Sytch hands her jewelry to her fiancé, James Pente, as she is taken into custody, Friday, May 13, 2022, after her bond for a drunk driving causing death charge was revoked.
Tammy Sytch hands her jewelry to her fiancé, James Pente, as she is taken into custody, Friday, May 13, 2022, after her bond for a drunk driving causing death charge was revoked.

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Sytch did not make a statement as she stood next to her defense attorney, Steven deLaroche, before Circuit Judge Karen Foxman at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach.

DeLaroche waived the formal reading of the charges and entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf.

Tammy 'Sunny' Sytch was in handcuffs during hearing, waved to fiancé

Sytch's wrists were in handcuffs attached to a belt, but she still raised a hand to wave to her fiancé, who was sitting in the gallery, as she walked out of the courtroom to be transported back to the Volusia County jail.

Sytch was arrested on May 6 and released on a $225,000 bond from the Volusia County jail on May 7. But Assistant State Attorney Ashley Terwilleger filed a motion to revoke her bond and hold her in jail pending the outcome of her case.

On May 13, Foxman agreed with Terwilleger that Sytch posed a threat to the community because of her repeated instances of driving while intoxicated.

DeLaroche had asked that Sytch be allowed to remain free but required to wear an ankle monitor with an alcohol sensor. Foxman said a monitor would be too easy to evade.

Sytch's fiancé, James Pente, said after the hearing that he apologized to the family of the man killed and said Sytch feels bad about it.

"She feels absolutely terrible. I can't emphasize it more. She just feels bad in general," he said. "Everybody's life's ruined."

When asked if there was any discussion of a plea deal, he said he could not comment on the workings of the case.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Former WWE star Tammy Sytch pleads not guilty in Ormond Beach fatal DUI