US Man Linked to Australian Shooters Strikes Plea Deal with Prosecutors
An American citizen linked with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla shooting that took six lives – including two Queensland police officers – has accepted a watered-down plea agreement.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr will face court on October 21 after finalizing the plea deal with American authorities.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is anticipated to plead guilty to a sole charge of illegally owning guns and bullets in a deal to be sanctioned by the judiciary in the current month.
Links to Aussie Gunmen
Investigators confirmed direct links between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
This couple, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were fatally shot in a gun battle with law enforcement, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
US prosecutors said the accused communicated via social media with the Trains during the period of the fatal attack.
He referred to Queensland officers as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, informing the Trains he wanted to be at Wieambilla in person.
Court documents detailed how Gareth and Stacey Train had posted an end-times video on YouTube after the incident, stating police “came to kill us and we killed them”.
“Failing to stand against these evil forces makes one a coward … We will meet you at home, Don. With love,” they said.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Court documents reveal the defendant accumulated a cache of multiple powerful guns and numerous bullets of ammo at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted with a shooting range, gun room and sniper hide.
“The firearms and ammunition were kept in the mobile home I shared with S.S., in a room we called the ‘gun room’,” he admitted in the agreement filed in court.
Day said he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the firearms, and also trained individuals on how to use the firearms correctly.
The bargain will result in charges dropped that pertain to the alleged making of threats to public figures and federal agents.
Based on court documents, the individual had been banned from owning guns and arms because of his history of violent crimes.
Day, who has served two years in detention, could receive a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in jail or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be judged under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.
