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 folks in 2018 at a Waffle Home in Tennessee

ByThe Associated Press

19 May 2022, 17:42

• 3 min learn

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 four individuals in 2018 at a Waffle Home in Tennessee.

A decide convicted Jeffrey Reinking final week of unlawful delivery of a firearm to a person who had been handled for mental sickness throughout the past 5 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 remedy in 2016.

In May 2016, police and hearth personnel responded to a pharmacy parking lot in Morton the place Travis Reinking told 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 evaluation after that incident and had agreed to go to the hospital.

However Jeffrey Reinking’s lawyer, Kevin Sullivan, argued at trial that his shopper didn’t know his son had been handled for psychological health issues on the hospital. Sullivan said he knew his son was delivered to the hospital but didn’t know why, and was not guilty of the charge.

As a result of the younger Reinking had his firearm proprietor’s identification card revoked by Illinois State Police, he couldn't legally have weapons inside 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 stated.

The assault-style rifle he utilized 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 opportunity of parole after being convicted of four counts of first-degree homicide and other expenses. He opened hearth 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 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 space on the White House grounds and demanded to fulfill with then-President Donald Trump.