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

An Illinois man faces up to 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

ByThe Associated Press

19 May 2022, 17:42

• 3 min read

PEKIN, Sick. -- 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 Home in Tennessee.

A judge convicted Jeffrey Reinking last week of unlawful delivery of a firearm to a person who had been treated for mental illness 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 May 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 car parking zone in Morton the place Travis Reinking advised 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.

But Jeffrey Reinking’s lawyer, Kevin Sullivan, argued at trial that his consumer didn’t know his son had been handled for psychological health issues on the hospital. Sullivan said he knew his son was dropped at the hospital however didn’t know why, and was not responsible of the charge.

Because the youthful 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 sooner or later before the deadly capturing at a Waffle Home in Nashville, prosecutors mentioned.

The assault-style rifle he used 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 without the opportunity of parole after being convicted of four counts of first-degree murder and different costs. 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.

Proof at Travis Reinking's trial showed he had schizophrenia and suffered delusions for years, believing unknown individuals have been tormenting him. He contacted legislation enforcement several 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 House grounds and demanded to fulfill with then-President Donald Trump.