Post office arson case for Pat Tillman’s brother suspended for competency exam

SAN JOSE Richard Tillman will not be prosecuted for claims that he tried to destroy a post office with his flaming car while livestreaming the entire saga pending a competency exam after his court-appointed attorney raised doubt about his mental fitness That prompted the -year-old defendant clad in a yellow jumpsuit in a Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Hector Ramon s courtroom to lash out and vouch for his perception Richard Tillman insinuated he would fire the deputy general defender whose office had just been assigned to represent him at an arraignment hearing Wednesday I ll prove my competency whenever you like Richard Tillman declared in open court before remarking He s obviously not my attorney at this point Richard Tillman youngest brother of the late San Jose-raised NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman reacts as he speaks with deputy masses defender Brandon Camarillo at the Hall of Justice in San Jose Calif Wednesday July Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Richard Tillman also interrupted a discussion between Deputy District Attorney Emily Lessard and Ramon over whether the defendant should be granted bail saying I don t need bail Lessard and the judge disagreed over whether bail should be denied on the premise that Richard Tillman posed an ongoing residents safety threat Ultimately Ramon ordered Richard Tillman back to jail and set his bail at which adheres to the court s bail schedule for the felony arson vandalism and explosives possession charges filed against him by the district attorney s office His next court appearance in which a practitioner will be appointed to conduct a mental competency evaluation is scheduled for Aug After the hearing Assistant District Attorney Angela Bernhard announced There was nothing that happened in court in the modern day that changes our opinion that Mr Tillman poses a danger to the citizens Richard Tillman was arrested Sunday following a fire call made around a m at a post office in the block of Crown Boulevard The blaze engulfed the building and took about minutes for San Jose firefighters to extinguish Angela Bernhard assistant district attorney speaks to media in front of the Hall of Justice in San Jose Calif Wednesday July Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group It was firefighters who pointed out Richard Tillman to a responding San Jose patrol officer A probable cause affidavit accompanying the criminal charges describes an on-scene interrogation in which the officer determined that about two hours before the fire erupted Richard Tillman had purchased insta-logs and lighter fluid from a Lucky supermarket While livestreaming the sequence on YouTube Richard Tillman is accused of backing his car into the post office then igniting the firelogs which had been doused with lighter fluid and scattered throughout the wagon At a few point he also spray-painted VIVA LA ME on the exterior of the post office according to the affidavit The criminal analysis is being conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Facility and the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives in conjunction with San Jose police and arson investigators Richard Tillman is the brother of Pat Tillman the former Arizona Cardinals safety who left the National Football League in to enlist with his brother Kevin in the Iraq war after the September terrorist attacks on the United States After a tour in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom Pat Tillman trained to become an Army Ranger He was sent to Afghanistan in where he was struck by friendly fire and killed on April Richard Tillman gained notoriety after giving a profane and hostile eulogy at his brother s funeral and had a lengthy history on YouTube before his page was deactivated making videos under the name of Yeshua HaMashiach a Hebrew phrase that translates to Jesus the Messiah and also listing himself in his profile description as The Son of the Preponderance High God Tillman eventually began tying his belief that he is the son of God with a mission to bring down the executive and made an unintelligible reference to the leadership in court Wednesday After the court hearing the defendant s father mother and brother declined to speak to reporters Earlier this week they issued a masses declaration saying it s no secret that Richard has been battling severe mental fitness issues for a multitude of years Unfortunately securing the proper care and advocacy for him has proven incredibly complicated or rather impossible As a effect none of this is as shocking as it should be Richard Tillman youngest brother of the late San Jose-raised NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman looks on as he enters the court room at the Hall of Justice in San Jose Calif Wednesday July Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Kevin Tillman brother of Richard Tillman and Mary Tillman mother walk out of the Hall of Justice in San Jose Calif Wednesday July Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Angela Bernhard assistant district attorney speaks to media in front of the Hall of Justice in San Jose Calif Wednesday July Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Richard Tillman youngest brother of the late San Jose-raised NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman reacts towards observers at the Hall of Justice in San Jose Calif Wednesday July Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Richard Tillman youngest brother of the late San Jose-raised NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman looks on as he enters the court room at the Hall of Justice in San Jose Calif Wednesday July Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Brandon Camarillo deputy population defender approaches the bench to speak with presiding judge Hector Ramon at the Hall of Justice in San Jose Calif Wednesday July Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Angela Bernhard assistant district attorney speaks to media in front of the Hall of Justice in San Jose Calif Wednesday July Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Kevin Tillman brother of Richard Tillman and Mary Tillman mother and Pat Tillman Sr father walk out of the Hall of Justice in San Jose Calif Wednesday July Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Mary Tillman mother and Pat Tillman Sr father walk out of the Hall of Justice in San Jose Calif Wednesday July Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Richard Tillman youngest brother of the late San Jose-raised NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman waves to observers as he enters the court room at the Hall of Justice in San Jose Calif Wednesday July Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Show Caption of Richard Tillman youngest brother of the late San Jose-raised NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman looks on as he enters the court room at the Hall of Justice in San Jose Calif Wednesday July Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Expand