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 Home in Tennessee

ByThe Associated Press

19 May 2022, 17:42

• 3 min read

PEKIN, Unwell. -- 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 4 people in 2018 at a Waffle Home in Tennessee.

A decide convicted Jeffrey Reinking final week of illegal supply of a firearm to a person who had been handled for mental sickness within the previous 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 agricultural Morton, Illinois, man knew his son, Travis Reinking, had undergone mental well being remedy in 2016.

In May 2016, police and fire 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.

Reviews 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.

However Jeffrey Reinking’s attorney, Kevin Sullivan, argued at trial that his client didn’t know his son had been handled for mental well being points on the hospital. Sullivan said he knew his son was delivered to the hospital however didn’t know why, and was not responsible of the charge.

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

The assault-style rifle he used in that attack, an AR-15, was one of the guns 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 other expenses. He opened fireplace inside 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 folks were tormenting him. He contacted legislation 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 into a restricted space on the White Home grounds and demanded to satisfy with then-President Donald Trump.