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 House in Tennessee

ByThe Related Press

19 May 2022, 17:42

• 3 min learn

PEKIN, Ailing. -- 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 people 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 handled for mental illness throughout the past 5 years, the ( Peoria) Journal Star reported. He stays free on bond pending his sentencing, which is ready for June 17.

During Reinking's Could 13 bench trial, Tazewell County prosecutors argued that the agricultural Morton, Illinois, man knew his son, Travis Reinking, had undergone mental well being therapy in 2016.

In Could 2016, police and fire 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 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 consumer didn’t know his son had been treated for psychological well being issues at the hospital. Sullivan stated he knew his son was dropped at the hospital but didn’t know why, and was not guilty of the cost.

As a result of 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 guns to his father, who later returned them to him sooner or later earlier than the deadly shooting at a Waffle House in Nashville, prosecutors mentioned.

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 with out the potential for parole after being convicted of 4 counts of first-degree homicide and other prices. 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 showed he had schizophrenia and suffered delusions for years, believing unknown folks were tormenting him. He contacted law enforcement a number of instances 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 Home grounds and demanded to meet with then-President Donald Trump.