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 folks in 2018 at a Waffle House in Tennessee

ByThe Related Press

19 Could 2022, 17:42

• 3 min learn

PEKIN, Sick. -- 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 four people in 2018 at a Waffle House in Tennessee.

A choose convicted Jeffrey Reinking final week of unlawful delivery of a firearm to a person who had been handled for mental sickness within the previous 5 years, the ( Peoria) Journal Star reported. He remains free on bond pending his sentencing, which is ready for June 17.

Throughout Reinking's May 13 bench trial, Tazewell County prosecutors argued that the agricultural Morton, Illinois, man knew his son, Travis Reinking, had undergone psychological health therapy in 2016.

In Could 2016, police and fireplace personnel responded to a pharmacy parking zone 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 showed Travis Reinking was brought to a Peoria hospital for an evaluation after that incident and had agreed to go to the hospital.

But Jeffrey Reinking’s legal professional, Kevin Sullivan, argued at trial that his shopper didn’t know his son had been handled for mental well being issues on the hospital. Sullivan said he knew his son was brought to the hospital but didn’t know why, and was not responsible of the cost.

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 in some unspecified time in the future earlier than the fatal taking pictures at a Waffle House 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 opportunity of parole after being convicted of 4 counts of first-degree homicide and other expenses. 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 confirmed he had schizophrenia and suffered delusions for years, believing unknown people were tormenting him. He contacted law enforcement several 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 area on the White Home grounds and demanded to meet with then-President Donald Trump.