Richard Tillman, the younger brother of late NFL star and Army ranger Pat Tillman, pleaded guilty this week to federal charges for setting a California post office on fire.
Tillman, 44, admitted to intentionally crashing his car into the post office to spark a fire in demonstration against the U.S. government.
He was arrested on July 20 last year after ramming his car into a post office in a San Jose strip mall and then setting the vehicle on fire.
According to prosecutors, Tillman purchased fire logs and lighter fluid in preparation for his actions. He then drove to the post office with the logs in his vehicle, backed through the building’s front door, “exited the vehicle, spread lighter fluid throughout the vehicle, threw a lit match into the vehicle” and then exited the post office.
The lobby of the building quickly went up in flames, but no injuries were reported.
Tillman pleaded guilty on Monday to malicious destruction of government property, officials said. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on April 27, when he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
“In pleading guilty, Tillman admitted that he intentionally set the fire in order to ‘make a point to the United States government,’” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California said in a statement.
No other information about his motives was released.
Following the crash, his brother Kevin Tillman said Richard had been “battling severe mental health issues for many years,” but that securing him the proper care and support had “proven incredibly difficult — or rather, impossible.”
Kevin said that unfortunately, “none of this is as shocking as it should be,” and that their family was relieved no one was hurt.
Pat Tillman left the Arizona Cardinals to join the military after 9/11 and was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004 at the age of 27. Richard delivered an impassioned eulogy at his brother’s funeral and has frequently criticized the U.S. military and government during TV appearances.
With News Wire Services
