An Oregon man was arrested and charged with stalking and harassing UConn women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers on Monday, according to ESPN’s Katie Barnes.
UConn Police arrested Robert Parmalee, 40, on Friday after several incidents where he allegedly threatened and harassed Bueckers in recent weeks and months. He was officially charged with breach of peace, electronic stalking and harassment on Monday, and was held on bond.
According to the report, UConn Police said that the school first learned of Parmalee in June after they received “rambling” emails from him in which he claimed he was a member of the royal family and he wanted to marry a member of the women’s basketball team.
He’s posted about Bueckers multiple times on social media, including one where he posted a fake wedding invitation that included an apparent engagement ring. He also made threatening posts about Bueckers, her friends and her family. In one post on his TikTok, according to ESPN, he threatened to kill himself and others if he couldn’t “live with the woman of my choosing,” meaning Bueckers. Parmalee also allegedly started sending videos and messages to Bueckers on Instagram in February. Bueckers said she never responded, and she told UConn Police on Friday that she feared for her safety and the safety of those around her.
The man was arrested in August, too, after he was found walking on a highway near Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. He told state police that he was on his way to see Bueckers when he was picked up during that incident, per the report, and that he was going to both propose to her and get her expelled from school.
A judge ordered both a protective and no-contact order on Monday. If Parmalee makes bail, per the report, he will be subjected to supervision and GPS monitoring. He is due in court in October.
Bueckers will return to UConn for one final season with the Huskies this fall. She was a projected lottery pick in the WNBA Draft earlier this summer. After two dominant seasons to start her career at UConn, in which she reached the Final Four twice and won various national player of the year awards, Bueckers has been battling various knee injuries over the past three seasons. She averaged a career-high 21.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game last season, her first one back at full strength while leading the team to the Final Four.
Comments