‘Viva La Me’: Richard Tillman’s strange message on torched San Jose post office

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) —  The brother of former NFL star Pat Tillman scrawled a strange message on a San Jose post office before he intentionally crashed his car into the building and set it on fire, according to investigators.

Combining English and Spanish words, Richard Tillman spray-painted the words, “Viva La Me,” over the U.S. Post Office’s front sign while livestreaming through his YouTube channel, named MepapasSon13.

“Mr. Tillman spray painted the building and was live streaming the event from his cell phone on YouTube,” San Jose Arson Unit Investigator Mark Buttitta wrote.

Tillman, 44, of San Jose, was arrested at 2:30 a.m. Sunday as flames engulfed the post office at 6525 Crown Boulevard.

According to Buttitta, the blaze was accelerated by bonfire-building materials that were doused with lighter fluid and scattered throughout Tillman’s car.

“Mr. Tillman purchased ‘insta-logs’ and lighter fluid at a Lucky’s Supermarket just before 1:00 a.m. that same morning. Mr. Tillman then parked his car across the street from the post office. After some time, he scattered the ‘insta-logs’ throughout his vehicle. He backed his vehicle into the post office, grabbed a match, and lit the car on fire,” Buttitta wrote in court documents.

As he was being interrogated at the scene by a San Jose police officer, Tillman continued livestreaming video of the burning post office. The officer eventually turned the livestream off for him, Buttitta wrote.

In the months leading up to the crash, Tillman frequently livestreamed on his “MepapasSon13” YouTube account and referred to himself as a god named “Yeshua.” Most of his videos were shot while sitting in the driver’s seat of his car.

When Tillman made his first court appearance Wednesday, he told the judge that he was homeless and preferred to stay in jail. “I don’t need bail. I don’t have anywhere to live,” he told the judge.

Sporting a long beard shoulder-length hair, Tillman waved and smiled at television news cameras in the courtroom. He told the judge he didn’t want his court-appointed defense attorney calling him “incompetent.”

His attorney, however, raised doubts about Tillman’s ability to stand trial. He is charged with arson and vandalism.

The judge ordered a mental competency test in which Tillman will be evaluated by psychiatrists. He remained locked in a San Jose jail as of Thursday afternoon. No one has apparently posted his $135,000 bail.

A prosecutor told reporters that Tillman is too dangerous to be freed from custody.

Richard Tillman’s brother, Pat Tillman, left the Arizona Cardinals NFL team to enlist in the U.S. Army following 9/11. The professional football player-turned Army Ranger was tragically killed in action while fighting in Afghanistan in 2004.

The Tillman family wrote in a statement, “It’s no secret that Richard has been battling severe mental health issues for many years. He has been livestreaming … his altered self on social media for anyone to witness. Unfortunately, securing the proper care and support for him has proven incredibly difficult — or rather, impossible. As a result, none of this is as shocking as it should be.”

The Tillman family said they were relieved that no one was injured in the post office crash and fire.

When Richard Tillman returns to court on August 15, psychiatrists will be appointed to evaluate his mental competency. If he is found unfit to stand trial, criminal charges will remain suspended and he will likely be sent to a mental health treatment facility.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.