Present or Past tense to describe a past condition which is still present?

Scenario: My friend John has a personality disorder, intensely paranoid for example.

Can I say:

There were three events last year that told me John had a problem.

or can I say:

There were threee events last year that told me John has a problem.

Solution 1:

Of the two alternatives, the correct one is There were three events last year that told me John had a problem. It should not be phrased with has because the verb told is in the past, so it must have told you about something in the past (i.e. John had a problem). It says nothing about whether the problem is or is not currently present.