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Father Of Shooting Suspect Says He's Not Guilty On Weapons Charge

Tazewell County Jail

  PEKIN, Ill. - The father of the man accused of killing four people at a Waffle House in Tennessee last year has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the gun used in the shooting.

Jeffrey Reinking is accused of returning an AR-15 style rifle to his 30-year-old son, Travis Reinking, who allegedly used it in Nashville on April 22, 2018.

The elder Reinking, of Morton contends he was never owner of the gun and had sought the advice of the Tazewell County Sheriff's Department on whether to return that gun and three others to his son. In a filing with the court Thursday, his lawyers contend Jeffrey Reinking talked to the sheriff's department several times and at no time was he told the rifle and other guns should be kept away from Travis Reinking.

 

Travis Reinking's mugshot from April 23, 2018

  Officer statement on file with the Tazewell County Sheriff's Depart detail the weapons that were taken from the younger Reinking and placed in his father’s care in mid-2017 when his Illinois FOID was revoked. Travis Reinking had been arrested at the White House in May 2016 and police reports dating back to 2014 indicate he’d experienced delusions.

Jeffrey Reinking settled two of the civil suits on the matter earlier in the week, and two new ones were filed.