A man has pleaded guilty to stalking women’s college basketball star Paige Bueckers.
Robert Cole Parmalee, 40, said on social media he intended to marry the UConn phenom.
When he was first arrested back in August, he had an engagement ring and lingerie while walking along a highway near Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut.
Paige Bueckers, #5 of the UConn Huskies, looks on during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 5, 2024 in Cleveland. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
He told a state trooper that he had just flown in from the Pacific Northwest and was on his way to see Bueckers at UConn, the police reports said.
The trooper took Parmalee into custody when he learned there was an arrest warrant against him out of Josephine County, Oregon, accusing Parmalee of setting a home on fire with roommates and pets inside, police said.
Parmalee had posted photos, videos and comments about Bueckers on TikTok and other social media platforms and had emailed UConn officials since June with rambling comments including his desire to marry Bueckers, police said. The postings and emails initially did not warrant criminal charges, but his comments became alarming over time, police reports said.
UConn guard Paige Bueckers, #5, shoots as Syracuse guard Georgia Woolley, left, defends in the second half of a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament on Monday, March 25, 2024 in Storrs, Connecticut. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
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He had originally faced charges of stalking, breach of peace and harassment, but those were substituted for a single count of second-degree stalking, the clerk said.
A two-time All-American, Bueckers leads the Big East with 20.6 points per game and a 58.4 shooting percentage. As a true freshman, she was named the AP Player of the Year and given both the Wooden and Naismith Awards.
UConn guard Paige Bueckers, #5, works the ball past Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, #22, during the first half of a college basketball game in the Sweet Sixteen round of the women’s NCAA tournament at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Saturday, March 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Bueckers missed the entire 2022-23 season after tearing her ACL, but she returned to form by being named an All-American for the second time. Her Huskies lost in the Final Four to South Carolina, who defeated Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes to finish their undefeated season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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