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

An Illinois man faces as much as three years in prison 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

ByThe Related Press

19 May 2022, 17:42

• 3 min learn

PEKIN, Ill. -- 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 people in 2018 at a Waffle House in Tennessee.

A judge convicted Jeffrey Reinking final week of unlawful delivery of a firearm to an individual who had been treated for mental sickness inside the past five years, the ( Peoria) Journal Star reported. He remains 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 agricultural Morton, Illinois, man knew his son, Travis Reinking, had undergone psychological health treatment in 2016.

In Might 2016, police and fire personnel responded to a pharmacy parking zone in Morton the place Travis Reinking instructed 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 dropped at a Peoria hospital for an evaluation after that incident and had agreed to go to the hospital.

However Jeffrey Reinking’s legal professional, Kevin Sullivan, argued at trial that his shopper didn’t know his son had been handled for mental well being issues at the hospital. Sullivan mentioned he knew his son was brought to the hospital however didn’t know why, and was not guilty of the cost.

Because the youthful Reinking had his firearm owner’s identification card revoked by Illinois State Police, he could not legally have guns within the state. Travis Reinking surrendered his weapons to his father, who later returned them to him in some unspecified time in the future before the fatal taking pictures at a Waffle Home in Nashville, prosecutors mentioned.

The assault-style rifle he utilized 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 without the potential for parole after being convicted of 4 counts of first-degree homicide and different expenses. 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 showed he had schizophrenia and suffered delusions for years, believing unknown folks had been tormenting him. He contacted law enforcement several instances 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 House grounds and demanded to fulfill with then-President Donald Trump.