An Oregon man has been arrested and charged with stalking and harassing Connecticut women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers.
Robert Cole Parmalee, 40, of Grants Pass, Oregon, is charged with breach of peace, electronic stalking and harassment while appearing in Connecticut Superior Court in Rockville on Monday. Parmalee was arrested Friday and is being held on $100,000 bond.
According to UConn Police, the university’s communications department learned of Parmalee targeting Bueckers through “rambling” emails. Parmalee claimed he was a member of the royal family and he wanted to marry a member of the women’s basketball team. Parmalee also made social media posts there were threatening to Bueckers’ friends and family.
According to ESPN, one Parmalee’s TikTok posts threatened to kill himself and others if he couldn’t “live with the woman of my choosing,” apparently meaning Bueckers.
Parmalee previously was arrested on Aug. 27 by Connecticut State Police after he was observed walking along a highway near Bradley International Airport outside Hartford. The day before his arrest Parmalee posted on TikTok that he was going to see Bueckers with the plan to propose to her and get her expelled from school.
A judge ordered both a protective and no-contact order on Monday. Parmalee’s next court appearance is scheduled for October 22.