Getting your
Trinity Audioplayer ready...SAN JOSE – A judge on Monday sentenced Richard Tillman, the brother of late war hero and San Jose-raised football star Pat Tillman, to five years in federal prison for using his car to firebomb a San Jose post office last summer, prosecutors said.
Tillman, 45, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of malicious destruction of government property by fire. He admitted he intentionally set fire to the post office at 6525 Crown Blvd. to “make a point to the United States government,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He faced a maximum term of 20 years behind bars but received the minimum of five.
In the federal complaint against Tillman, U.S. Postal Inspector Shannon Roark wrote that he purchased “insta-logs” and lighter fluid from a nearby supermarket and, while live-streaming on YouTube, backed his car into the post office. He then ignited the logs, which had been doused in lighter fluid and strewn throughout the vehicle.
Tillman 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 then fire was too intense,” according to the complaint.
The fire destroyed the post office lobby, which remains unusable, prosecutors said.
The case drew wide attention because of his connection to Pat Tillman, who played in the National Football League before joining the military in 2002. Pat Tillman served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, trained to become an Army Ranger and was sent to Afghanistan in 2004. He was hit and killed by friendly fire in April of that year.
Richard Tillman was initially charged in Santa Clara County Superior Court a few days after the July 20, 2025, fire attack, but the local case was dropped after federal prosecutors secured a parallel indictment for the same crime.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davilla sentenced Tillman to a three-year period of supervised release and to pay about $2.37 million in restitution to the U.S. Postal Service. He was immediately remanded into custody.