Tillman pleads guilty to burning San Jose post office
Richard Tillman, the brother of late war hero and San Jose-raised NFL star Pat Tillman, pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to using his car to firebomb a South San Jose post office last summer.
Tillman, 44, entered his plea — reached through an agreement with federal prosecutors — in the San Jose courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila of the Northern District of California. He faces a minimum of five years in prison.
His sentence will not be decided until a sentencing hearing set for April 27. The charge, malicious destruction of government property by fire, carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison.
In court, Tillman was upbeat and talkative with his federal public defender, Varell Fuller, prior to making his guilty plea.
Clad in a dark green jumpsuit from the Elmwood medium-security county men’s jail in Milpitas, he responded, “guilty, sir” when Davila asked him to confirm his plea. He admitted to setting the fire in order to “make a point to the United States government,” prosecutors said.
Tillman was originally expected to enter his guilty plea Jan. 12, but at the last minute, he was appointed another attorney as advisory counsel, and the court hearing was pushed back. He was initially charged in Santa Clara County Superior Court a few days after the July 20 fire attack on the Almaden Valley post office on Crown Boulevard, but on Aug. 7, federal prosecutors secured a parallel indictment for the same crime.
On Aug. 25, with the local case halted to allow competency examinations for Tillman, county prosecutors requested the dismissal of their charges and cleared the way for the federal case.
In the federal complaint against Tillman, U.S. Postal Inspector Shannon Roark wrote that Tillman purchased “insta-logs” and lighter fluid from a nearby supermarket and, while livestreaming on YouTube, backed his car into the post office. He then ignited the logs, which had been doused with lighter fluid and scattered throughout the vehicle.
He also allegedly spray-painted “VIVA LA ME” on the exterior of the post office, “but did not finish what he wanted to write because the heat from the fire was too intense,” according to the complaint.
Tillman was still streaming video shortly before he was arrested on site by a San Jose police officer.
In outlining Tillman’s plea, Davila indicated that the post office sustained about $2.67 million in damage; federal prosecutor Michael Pitman later added that the lobby of the building was completely destroyed.
Tillman was assertive in affirming to Davila that he understood the consequences of his plea; during his earlier Superior Court arraignment, he balked at the suggestion that his mental fitness was in doubt.
The arson case drew wide attention because of his connection to Pat Tillman, a Leland High School standout who played safety for the Arizona Cardinals before leaving the National Football League in 2002 to enlist with his brother Kevin in the Iraq war after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Pat Tillman served in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, trained to become an Army Ranger, and was sent to Afghanistan in 2004. During a firefight there, he was struck by friendly fire and killed on April 22, 2004.
Richard Tillman gained notoriety after giving a profane and hostile eulogy at his brother’s funeral, and in the ensuing years established a persona in YouTube videos in which he claimed to be the son of God with a mission to bring down the government. Following the post office attack, his family issued a statement describing him as suffering from chronic “severe mental health issues” and that “securing the proper care and support for him has proven incredibly difficult — or rather, impossible.”
Family members who attended Monday’s plea hearing declined to comment afterward.