NFL, Arizona Cardinals celebrate 20th anniversary of Pat Tillman Foundation
Dear Athletes, ASU students spent time with 600 students at Tillman Middle School in Phoenix on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
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The brother of late NFL star turned U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman has pleaded guilty to setting fire to a U.S. post office in Northern California last summer, federal prosecutors announced.
Richard Tillman, 44, pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday, February 9, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. He was first indicted in July 2025 and indicted by a grand jury in August 2025 on one count of malicious destruction of government property.
Prosecutors said Richard Tillman intentionally crashed his car into the Almaden Valley Station Post Office on July 20, 2025, and set the car on fire. The Almaden Valley Station Post Office is located in San Jose, California.
The Postal Inspection Service previously told USA TODAY that local fire and police departments responded to reports of a vehicle on fire in the lobby of the post office just after 3 a.m. PT. San Jose police said when officers arrived at the scene, they found “a vehicle had crashed into the post office, causing it to burst into flames, and the entire building was on fire.”
Following the incident, the Postal Inspection Service announced that the Almaden Valley Station Post Office was temporarily closed due to “significant damage to the building caused by a private vehicle that entered the facility.” Prosecutors noted that the fire rendered the building’s lobby unusable and it has not been open to the public since.
Prosecutors said Richard Tillman remains in federal custody and a sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 27. He faces a minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years, and a $250,000 fine.
Prosecutor: Richard Tillman wanted to ‘make a case’ to the US government
In pleading guilty, Richard Tillman admitted he intentionally set the fire to “make a case to the United States government,” prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Richard Tillman loaded the burning logs into his car before backing it through the front door of the post office. He then got out of the car, poured lighter fluid into the car and threw a lit match into the car.
“The fire quickly spread from the vehicle to the post office, completely destroying the lobby,” prosecutors said.
The San Jose Fire Department said about 50 personnel responded to the scene and the fire was extinguished with no injuries.
Who is Pat Tillman?
Pat Tillman played for the Arizona Cardinals, but declined a new contract offer to the U.S. Army Rangers following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Another brother, Kevin, also joined him.
Pat Tillman, who was born in the San Jose area, was killed in a crossfire while serving in Afghanistan in 2004. To honor him and raise money for the Pat Tillman Foundation, an annual race, the Pat Run, is held each spring in Tempe, Arizona.
Contributor: N’dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY. Chris Coppola, Arizona Republic
