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 individuals in 2018 at a Waffle House in Tennessee

ByThe Related Press

19 May 2022, 17:42

• 3 min read

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

A choose convicted Jeffrey Reinking last week of unlawful supply of a firearm to a person who had been treated for mental sickness within the previous 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 psychological health treatment in 2016.

In Might 2016, police and hearth personnel responded to a pharmacy parking lot 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 brought to a Peoria hospital for an evaluation after that incident and had agreed to go to the hospital.

But Jeffrey Reinking’s attorney, Kevin Sullivan, argued at trial that his consumer didn’t know his son had been treated for mental well being issues on the hospital. Sullivan mentioned he knew his son was delivered to the hospital but didn’t know why, and was not responsible of the charge.

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

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

Travis Reinking was sentenced in February to life in jail with out the potential of parole after being convicted of four counts of first-degree murder and different costs. 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.

Proof at Travis Reinking's trial confirmed he had schizophrenia and suffered delusions for years, believing unknown people were tormenting him. He contacted law 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 into a restricted space on the White House grounds and demanded to satisfy with then-President Donald Trump.