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 4 individuals in 2018 at a Waffle House in Tennessee

ByThe Related Press

19 Might 2022, 17:42

• 3 min read

PEKIN, Ailing. -- 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 folks in 2018 at a Waffle House in Tennessee.

A judge convicted Jeffrey Reinking final week of illegal delivery of a firearm to a person who had been treated for psychological illness throughout the past 5 years, the ( Peoria) Journal Star reported. He remains free on bond pending his sentencing, which is set for June 17.

Throughout 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 treatment in 2016.

In Could 2016, police and fireplace 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.

Stories the Journal Star obtained in 2018 confirmed Travis Reinking was dropped at 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 client didn’t know his son had been treated for mental well being points on 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.

Because the younger Reinking had his firearm owner’s identification card revoked by Illinois State Police, he could not legally have guns throughout 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 capturing at a Waffle Home in Nashville, prosecutors stated.

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

Travis Reinking was sentenced in February to life in jail with out the potential for parole after being convicted of 4 counts of first-degree homicide and different prices. He opened fireplace 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 confirmed he had schizophrenia and suffered delusions for years, believing unknown folks have been tormenting him. He contacted regulation 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 Home grounds and demanded to satisfy with then-President Donald Trump.