Jeffrey Reinking guilty of illegally giving weapons to Nashville Waffle House mass shooter

Andy Kravetz, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

PEKIN – A rural Morton man now faces up to three years in prison after being found guilty Friday of illegally giving his son weapons that were later used in a 2018 mass shooting in Nashville.

Jeffrey Reinking could also get probation when he is sentenced on June 17 on the charge of illegal delivery of a firearm to a person who had been treated for mental illness within the past five years.

During a one-day bench trial before Tazewell County Judge Chris Doscotch, prosecutors argued that Reinking knew his son, Travis, had undergone mental health treatment in 2016.

On May 26, 2016, police and fire personnel responded to a CVS pharmacy parking lot in Morton where Travis Reinking told sheriff's deputies he believed singer Taylor Swift was stalking him and had hacked into his cellphone.

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According to reports obtained in 2018 by the Journal Star, Reinking was brought to UnityPoint Heath-Methodist in Peoria for an evaluation. Reinking, the brief report states, had agreed to go to the hospital.

But Jeffrey Reinking's attorney, Kevin Sullivan, argued that his client didn't know his son had been treated for mental health issues at Methodist. He knew he was brought to the hospital but didn't know why, the attorney said. As such, he wasn't guilty of the crime, Sullivan argued Friday afternoon.

Travis Reinking was convicted and then sentenced earlier this year to life in prison for fatally shooting four people at a Waffle House in Nashville. Tennessee, in 2018. The weapon he used, an AR-15, was one of the guns his father had given back to him.

Because the younger Reinking had his firearm owner's identification card revoked, he couldn't legally have the weapon within the state. At some point before the fatal shooting in April 2018, the father gave the guns back to his son.

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After the trial, Doscotch ruled from the bench, finding the elder Reinking guilty. He remains free on bond pending his sentencing hearing.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville waffle house shooting: Jeffrey Reinking found guilty, weapon