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 four people in 2018 at a Waffle Home in Tennessee

ByThe Related Press

19 May 2022, 17:42

• 3 min read

PEKIN, In poor health. -- 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 4 folks in 2018 at a Waffle House in Tennessee.

A judge convicted Jeffrey Reinking final week of illegal delivery of a firearm to a person who had been handled for mental sickness within 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 Might 13 bench trial, Tazewell County prosecutors argued that the rural Morton, Illinois, man knew his son, Travis Reinking, had undergone psychological health remedy in 2016.

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

Stories the Journal Star obtained in 2018 showed 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 attorney, Kevin Sullivan, argued at trial that his client didn’t know his son had been treated for mental well being points at the hospital. Sullivan said he knew his son was dropped at the hospital however didn’t know why, and was not guilty 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 inside the state. Travis Reinking surrendered his weapons to his father, who later returned them to him sooner or later before the fatal capturing at a Waffle House in Nashville, prosecutors said.

The assault-style rifle he used in that assault, 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 possibility of parole after being convicted of 4 counts of first-degree murder and different fees. He opened fireplace contained in the restaurant on April 22, 2018, killing Taurean Sanderlin, 29; Joey Perez, 20; Akilah Dasilva, 23; and DeEbony Groves, 21.

Evidence at Travis Reinking's trial showed he had schizophrenia and suffered delusions for years, believing unknown people were tormenting him. He contacted legislation enforcement a number of occasions to report that he was being threatened, stalked and harassed.

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