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 individuals in 2018 at a Waffle Home in Tennessee

ByThe Associated Press

19 May 2022, 17:42

• 3 min read

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 four individuals in 2018 at a Waffle House in Tennessee.

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

Throughout Reinking's Could 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 May 2016, police and fireplace personnel responded to a pharmacy parking zone in Morton where Travis Reinking informed officers he believed singer Taylor Swift was stalking him and had hacked into his cellphone.

Experiences the Journal Star obtained in 2018 confirmed Travis Reinking was dropped at a Peoria hospital for an analysis after that incident and had agreed to go to the hospital.

But Jeffrey Reinking’s attorney, Kevin Sullivan, argued at trial that his consumer didn’t know his son had been handled for mental well being issues at the hospital. Sullivan mentioned he knew his son was brought to the hospital however didn’t know why, and was not responsible of the cost.

As a result of the younger Reinking had his firearm owner’s identification card revoked by Illinois State Police, he could not legally have guns inside the state. Travis Reinking surrendered his weapons to his father, who later returned them to him at some point before the deadly taking pictures at a Waffle House in Nashville, prosecutors mentioned.

The assault-style rifle he utilized 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 possibility of parole after being convicted of four counts of first-degree murder and other prices. He opened hearth 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 showed he had schizophrenia and suffered delusions for years, believing unknown individuals had been tormenting him. He contacted legislation 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 meet with then-President Donald Trump.