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

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 people in 2018 at a Waffle House in Tennessee

ByThe Related Press

19 Could 2022, 17:42

• 3 min read

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

A judge convicted Jeffrey Reinking last week of illegal delivery of a firearm to a person who had been treated for psychological illness inside the previous five years, the ( Peoria) Journal Star reported. He remains free on bond pending his sentencing, which is set 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 remedy in 2016.

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

Experiences 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 attorney, Kevin Sullivan, argued at trial that his shopper didn’t know his son had been handled for psychological 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 responsible of the cost.

Because the younger Reinking had his firearm owner’s identification card revoked by Illinois State Police, he couldn't legally have guns inside the state. Travis Reinking surrendered his guns to his father, who later returned them to him in some unspecified time in the future earlier than the deadly shooting at a Waffle Home in Nashville, prosecutors said.

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

Travis Reinking was sentenced in February to life in jail without the possibility of parole after being convicted of four counts of first-degree murder and other expenses. He opened fire 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 confirmed he had schizophrenia and suffered delusions for years, believing unknown individuals have been tormenting him. He contacted regulation enforcement several 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 meet with then-President Donald Trump.