Postal inspectors investigating fiery car crash at California post office as an intentional act
Richard Tillman, 44, of San Jose was arrested after the car rammed into the office located in a strip mall around 3 a.m. Sunday, causing the building to go up in flames, San Jose police said. No injuries were reported.
About 50 firefighters took about an hour and a half to knock down the flames at the Almaden Valley Station Post Office south of downtown. Photos posted online by the fire department showed a charred vehicle inside the heavily damaged one-story building.
Tillman was booked on suspicion of arson. He was held in lieu of $60,000 bail and was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, according to online custody records. A phone number could not be located for Tillman. Messages were sent to the Santa Clara County District Attorney asking if he has an attorney.
The incident is being investigated as a 'potentially intentional act,' U.S. Postal Inspector Michael Martel said in an email. There was no information about a possible motive.
Martel said Tillman is 'reported to be the brother of the late NFL player and U.S. Army soldier Patrick Tillman.' But the postal inspection agency and San Jose police did not provide any additional information.
Pat Tillman left the Arizona Cardinals to join the military after 9/11 and was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 at age 27. His family is from the San Jose area. The Tillman Foundation, an organization established by the family, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nearly 2 million people live in the metropolitan area of San Jose, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of downtown San Francisco.
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