Judge: Shooting suspect is not fit to stand trial

Travis Reinking, the man suspected of killing four people in a mass shooting at a Nashville Waffle House, will be committed to a mental hospital for treatment until he is fit to stand trial, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Reinking appeared in court to face his charges for the first time, wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit. He sat quietly while a forensic psychologist said he had schizophrenia that was so severe he would be unable to go to trial without medication and therapy.

Defendants are constitutionally required to meet a series of requirements before a trial can proceed: They must be able to work with an attorney, to understand court proceedings and to understand consequences of a trial.

After a hearing of about half an hour, Criminal Court Judge Mark Fishburn ruled that Reinking was “in definite need of training and medical treatment for his mental illness.”

Fishburn said it appeared Reinking was not taking any medicine for his schizophrenia.

“Obviously that’s the first step in getting him to become competent,” Fishburn said. “The court does commit Mr, Reinking to Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute to take whatever measures are reasonably necessary to see that he becomes and retains competency so that the trial in this case can proceed.”

The court will check on Reinking’s status every six months, but Fishburn said he wanted to be “immediately notified” when Reinking was ready for a trial.

Trials can be delayed for months while defendants are institutionalized.

Family members of the Waffle House victims packed into the courtroom’s small gallery to face Reinking, 29, for the first time since the April 22 shooting. They moaned and shook their heads during psychologist Rena Isen’s testimony.

Reinking remained stoic for much of the hearing, but began speaking toward the end, seemingly trying to address the judge. A court officer and Reinking’s public defender huddled around him and told him to be quiet. At one point, while the judge questioned the psychologist, Reinking appeared to laugh and briefly flashed a smile.

As Reinking got up to leave, he waved to his mother, seated in the front row. She left without talking to reporters.

Outside the courtroom, Di’Angelo Groves, whose sister DeEbony Groves was one of the people killed at the Waffle House, told reporters he accepted the results of the hearing.

“I’m at peace. I just wanted the opportunity to see him in person and I got that,” Di’Angelo Groves said. “I’m going to trust that they know what they’re doing.”

Prosecutors asked for a judge to commit Reinking for mental health treatment.

Deputy District Attorney General Roger Moore last week asked the court to consider more intensive treatment after Reinking’s court ordered mental evaluation found his “mental condition was such that he is currently not competent to stand trial and in need of immediate judicial hospitalization.”

Moore took pains in court Wednesday to explain that Reinking would not dodge a trial altogether.

Legal experts have said an insanity defense is possible in this case. While that argument focuses on Reinking’s state of mind at the time of the shooting, the issue on Wednesday was Reinking’s current mental state.

Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-7265986 and atamburin@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tamburintweets.