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

An Illinois man faces up to 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 House in Tennessee

ByThe Related Press

19 Might 2022, 17:42

• 3 min read

PEKIN, Sick. -- 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 four folks in 2018 at a Waffle House in Tennessee.

A choose convicted Jeffrey Reinking final week of unlawful delivery of a firearm to a person who had been handled for mental sickness throughout the previous 5 years, the ( Peoria) Journal Star reported. He remains free on bond pending his sentencing, which is ready for June 17.

During Reinking's May 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 fireplace personnel responded to a pharmacy car parking zone in Morton the place Travis Reinking advised officers he believed singer Taylor Swift was stalking him and had hacked into his cellphone.

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

However Jeffrey Reinking’s lawyer, Kevin Sullivan, argued at trial that his consumer didn’t know his son had been handled for mental well being points at the hospital. Sullivan stated he knew his son was dropped at the hospital but didn’t know why, and was not responsible of the charge.

Because the younger Reinking had his firearm owner’s identification card revoked by Illinois State Police, he could not legally have weapons throughout the state. Travis Reinking surrendered his weapons to his father, who later returned them to him at some point earlier than the deadly shooting at a Waffle Home in Nashville, prosecutors said.

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

Travis Reinking was sentenced in February to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of four counts of first-degree murder and other charges. He opened fire 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 confirmed he had schizophrenia and suffered delusions for years, believing unknown individuals were tormenting him. He contacted legislation enforcement a number of 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.