AUSTIN, Texas — A Travis County judge has lowered the bond amount for the man accused of driving from Florida to Travis County after threatening to kill people at the Tesla Gigafactory in November.
Judge Selena Alvarenga lowered Paul Ryan Overeem’s bond from $300,000 to $200,000.
Overeem was arrested by the Travis County’s Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) back in November after making threats to shoot people at the Cybertruck release event at the Tesla Gigafactory in Travis County.
The TCSO started investigating the case when Tesla asked the agency about a threat it found in an Instagram group chat that Overeem was a part of.
In the chat, Overeem made threats saying, “I need to be stopped” and, “If I’m saying I’m gonna kill people, then you should take this seriously.”
TCSO deputies started tracking Overeem’s phone and looking for his car. After they found that he had driven from Florida to Austin, they believed he was an imminent threat. He was then arrested in Austin and charged with a terroristic threat, a third-degree felony, and given a $300,000 bond.
Thursday in court, Overeem’s defense asked for his bond to be reduced so that his mother will be able to afford it and treat his mental health symptoms at home.
Overeem’s mother, Paula Marie Aponte, testified in court that Overeem has had ADHD and anxiety since he was young but has never consistently taken medication for it. She said it wasn’t until 2021 that she started noticing something was off and that his depression made him removed from his friends and family.
Aponte also pointed to an intense obsession with Elon Musk during this time. She said it started off mild, with just an admiration of Musk. But in 2022, her son started getting hyperfixated on Musk. She said they had hours-long conversations about the world and what was reality. In these conversations, she said Overeem believed Musk knew who he was.
The lead detective, Jennifer Boland with the TCSO, also testified Thursday and talked about the conversations she had with Overeem, where he seemed out of touch with reality.
Boland said in her conversation with Overeem, he admitted to making those threats. He also admitted to a plan to attend the event to try and elicit a response from somebody. She also testified that he was planning to kill himself the day after.
In continuing to talk with Overeem, Boland testified that she also noticed his obsession with Musk and his current and past partners. He even admitted to making a threat to Musk's current partner, Shivon Zilis.
Boland said during this time that Overeem’s obsession was growing, he was also having conversations with artificial intelligence chatbots online. At one point, Overeem started to think it wasn’t the computer talking to him, but a real person.
That’s when Boland said she realized he wasn't in touch with reality.
That is the basis for his defense’s argument. His attorneys said since he’s been in jail, he’s been taking medication consistently for his mental health for the first time and has been more stable than ever. That’s why they think he should be recovering at home with his mother.
“Keeping him behind bars and thinking that’s the best place for him to receive mental health treatment is just a little bit archaic,” Jeremy Sylestine, Overeem’s defense attorney, said. “I think that we should give him the opportunity to prove himself and receive that treatment at home with his family who cares for him.”
But Overeem's mother said $300,000 is an excessive amount she would not be able to pay for. She wanted something closer to $50,000, but the judge ultimately decided on $200,000.
Judge Alvarenga agreed that the original bond was an excessive amount, but she also thinks that Overeem could still pose a threat to the community. The state argued that they have concerns about him continuing to take his medication if released from jail.
“If he leaves the jurisdiction of this court, how are we going to supervise?” attorney Habon Mohamed said. “How are we going to make sure that he’s taking his medications? He hasn’t been listening to his mother for the past, I guess, since 2014. How is now going to be different?”
The state argued that since Overeem's mother has not pushed him to seek mental health treatment and medication, they’re not sure that’s going to happen now. Back in 2014, Overeem had a psych evaluation to get accommodations to finish his high school degree. In that evaluation, the health officials said he was a little out of touch with reality, but Aponte took no actions to get him help.
Along with Overeem’s lowered bond, the judge also added conditions for if he is released. He will have to be on house arrest and continue with mental health treatment and taking medications. He’s also been ordered to stay away from the Tesla Gigafactory.
Overeem is set to be back in court in May.