Waffle House shooting verdicts provide justice, but no relief from grief

It was the day to remember Joe Perez Jr., Taurean Sanderlin, Akilah DaSilva and DeEbony Groves.

On Saturday, a Nashville jury handed down four life sentences to the man convicted of killing them and wounding several others in an early-morning massacre at an Antioch Waffle House in 2018.

Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk commended the jurors on their verdict and decision to sentence Travis Reinking to life in prison.

“None of us want our kids, at some point in the future, to go to a Waffle House when Travis Reinking was on the loose,” District Attorney Glenn Funk said Saturday.

On Friday, the same jurors found Reinking guilty of multiple first-degree murder charges and four felony murder charges, which will combine for the sentence.

James Shaw Jr., the man who was able to stop the shooting by wrenching the gun away from the shooter and wrestling Reinking out of the restaurant, on Saturday told reporters he was terrified during the encounter.

"In the moment that I told y’all, on April 22, 2018, I was so scared to step in the light and do that," he said. "But then, then I think I was supposed to be there. I ain’t doing it anymore. I’m gonna step into that light. I’m gonna step into my potential."

'Some long-term good'

In addition to the first-degree murder convictions, Reinking, 33, was found guilty of related counts, including attempted murder and weapons possession charges. The verdicts thwarted an attempted insanity plea from his defense attorneys.

Sentencing for the remaining convictions will be handled later by the court.

TRAVIS REINKING SENTENCED: 'This has broken me': Travis Reinking sentenced to four life sentences in Waffle House shooting

TRAVIS REINKING GUILTY: Waffle House shooting trial: Travis Reinking guilty on all counts

Perez, 20; Sanderlin, 29; Groves, 21; and DaSilva, 23, died after Reinking walked into the restaurant just after 3:20 a.m. and opened fire with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Four others - James Shaw Jr., Kayla Shaw, Sharita Henderson and Shantia Waggoner - were wounded in the shooting.

Nothing can bring the victims back to life or erase the scars of their murders, Funk said.

“It’s never a happy day when someone goes to prison, especially prison for life without parole. But to seek justice and to make sure that, even in this tragedy, there is some long-term good is important for Nashville,” he said.

Funk praised the prosecutors who handled the case with him, Deputy District Attorney Roger Moore and Assistant District Attorneys Jan Norman and Ronald Dowdy.

He also took a moment to thank the families of the victims. He said justice could not have been done with out their “courage, dedication, perseverance and character.”

Reinking’s severe mental illness has not been disputed by anyone associated with the case, but much of the prosecution’s case dug into medical opinions about how much Reinking's illness drove his actions.

“Travis Reinking was prosecuted for his actions,” Moore said after the sentencing. “He had a mental illness. We all acknowledge that. He was not prosecuted because he had a mental illness.”

Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Mark Fishburn will decide later whether the life sentences will run concurrently or consecutively based on statutory factors that guide his decision. That hearing will likely be set in early May.

The state did not seek the death penalty in this case.

'Our hearts are with you'

Reinking’s parents sat in the front row each day of the trial, later in the week joined by his aunt and uncle.

On Saturday, his little brother, only 13 years old, joined them.

Gene Pflederer, Reinking's uncle, gave a short statement on behalf of the family after the sentencing verdict came down.

"I cannot adequately express the heartache that we feel for the families, friends and all those who are affected by this tragedy," he said through tears, holding tight to his wife, Terri.

At times he stumbled over his words with emotion.

"Please know that our family has been, and will continue to be, in prayer for the families of these beautiful lives lost and those who survived with physical and emotional injuries," Pflederer said. "Our hearts are with you as you suffer through this tragedy and will continue to be with you."

'I want to continue their legacy'

Shaw has counted every day since the shooting, all 1,385 days of them.

On Saturday, he told reporters he wanted to keep the focus on the families who had lost loved ones in the massacre.

He knew none of them before that day.

But since, he says, he’s called all their mothers. Day by day during the trial, each hugged him as they left the courtroom. He held DeEbony Groves’ mother’s hand as the jury read out 16 guilty verdicts Friday.

“This was heavy on everybody’s heart, no matter which side you were on,” he said. “I can’t really talk for these people, but all I want to do is continue their legacy. They had so much more life to give.”

Shaw said he hopes in some way the trial gave people a sense of what he and the other victims went through that night.

But just seeing the video will never be the same as being there.

“Y’all didn’t hear stuff. Y’all didn’t feel it, y’all didn’t smell it. You just saw it,” he said. “This is never going away. It’s over with, but this is still 1,385 days. Tomorrow will be 1,386. Then 1,387.

"It’ll be 5,000 one day."

The defense attorneys for Reinking - Paul Bruno, Luke Evans and Kurt Haskell - declined to comment to reporters after the sentencing.

Reach reporter Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Waffle House shooting verdicts give no relief from grief for survivors