Illinois man convicted of giving son rifle he used to kill 4

An Illinois man faces up to three years in prison after being convicted of illegally giving his son an assault-style rifle he later used to shoot and kill four individuals in 2018 at a Waffle House in Tennessee

ByThe Related Press

19 May 2022, 17:42

• 3 min read

PEKIN, Ill. -- An Illinois man faces as much as three years in jail after being convicted of illegally giving his son an assault-style rifle he later used to shoot and kill 4 individuals in 2018 at a Waffle Home in Tennessee.

A judge convicted Jeffrey Reinking final week of unlawful delivery of a firearm to a person who had been treated for mental illness inside the past five years, the ( Peoria) Journal Star reported. He stays free on bond pending his sentencing, which is set for June 17.

During Reinking's Could 13 bench trial, Tazewell County prosecutors argued that the rural Morton, Illinois, man knew his son, Travis Reinking, had undergone mental health therapy in 2016.

In Could 2016, police and fire personnel responded to a pharmacy car parking zone in Morton where Travis Reinking advised officers he believed singer Taylor Swift was stalking him and had hacked into his cellphone.

Studies the Journal Star obtained in 2018 confirmed Travis Reinking was delivered to a Peoria hospital for an analysis after that incident and had agreed to go to the hospital.

However Jeffrey Reinking’s attorney, Kevin Sullivan, argued at trial that his consumer didn’t know his son had been handled for psychological well being points on the hospital. Sullivan mentioned he knew his son was delivered to the hospital however didn’t know why, and was not responsible of the cost.

Because the younger Reinking had his firearm proprietor’s identification card revoked by Illinois State Police, he could not legally have weapons throughout the state. Travis Reinking surrendered his guns to his father, who later returned them to him sooner or later earlier than the fatal capturing at a Waffle Home in Nashville, prosecutors mentioned.

The assault-style rifle he used in that attack, an AR-15, was one of the guns his father had returned to him.

Travis Reinking was sentenced in February to life in prison with out the potential for parole after being convicted of four counts of first-degree murder and different costs. He opened fireplace inside the restaurant on April 22, 2018, killing Taurean Sanderlin, 29; Joey Perez, 20; Akilah Dasilva, 23; and DeEbony Groves, 21.

Proof at Travis Reinking's trial showed he had schizophrenia and suffered delusions for years, believing unknown individuals were tormenting him. He contacted law enforcement several times to report that he was being threatened, stalked and harassed.

In July 2017, he was detained by the Secret Service after he ventured unarmed into a restricted space on the White Home grounds and demanded to fulfill with then-President Donald Trump.