A man accused of stalking and harassing UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers and saying on social media he planned to marry her pleaded guilty Wednesday to stalking charges.
Robert Cole Parmalee, 40, who had an engagement ring and lingerie on him when he was first arrested in August, received a one-year suspended sentence and three years’ probation on Wednesday, a court clerk said.
He was initially charged with stalking, breach of the peace and harassment, but those were replaced by a single charge of second-degree stalking, the clerk said. An email seeking comment was sent to his public defender.
Parmalee, whose last known addresses were Grants Pass, Oregon, and Ritzville, Washington, was initially arrested on August 27 with the ring and lingerie while walking along a highway near Bradley International Airport near Hartford. He told a state trooper that he had just flown in from the Pacific Northwest and was on his way to visit Bueckers at UConn, police reports said.
The officer took Parmalee into custody when he learned there was a warrant for his arrest out of Josephine County, Oregon, and accused Parmalee of setting fire to a house 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 extensive comments, including his desire to marry Bueckers, police said. The messages and emails did not initially warrant criminal charges, but his comments became alarming over time, according to police reports.