Brother of late NFL star, U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman sentenced for 2025 San Jose post office arson
Richard Tillman, brother of the late National Football League star and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman, was sentenced on Monday to five years in federal prison for setting a San Jose post office on fire in 2025.
In February, Richard Tillman pleaded guilty to one count of malicious destruction of government property by fire for setting fire to the U.S. Post Office on Crown Boulevard on July 20, 2025. The post office's lobby went up in flames around 3 a.m. after Tillman backed up his vehicle into the building, doused it with lighter fluid, and then set fire to it - and the fire logs that were in the vehicle.
The fire quickly spread from the vehicle to the Post Office, destroying its lobby. It has not been available to the public since.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Tillman said he set fire to the facility to "make a point to the United States Government." Tillman's family said he had been suffering mental health issues for years.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila also sentenced Tillman to three years of supervised release and ordered Tillman to pay restitution of $2,371,682 to the United States Postal Service.
The 45-year-old Tillman is the youngest brother of Pat Tillman, the Bay Area native who ended his football career with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army with his other brother Kevin and become Rangers. Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 by friendly fire.
