US Man Connected to Aussie Gunmen Secures Plea Deal with Federal Attorneys
An American citizen associated with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla, Australia attack that took six lives – among them two Queensland police officers – has accepted a less severe plea agreement.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr will face court on October 21 after finalizing the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to plead guilty to a sole offense of illegally owning firearms and ammunition in a deal to be approved by the court this month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Authorities established clear connections between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, murdered Queensland police officers Arnold and McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla in 2022.
The Trains were fatally shot in a final shootout with police, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
US prosecutors said the accused corresponded via online platforms with the Trains around the time of the deadly ambush.
Day referred to Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and declared they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, informing the Trains he wanted to be at Wieambilla physically.
Legal filings detailed how the couple had posted an apocalyptic recording on YouTube after the incident, stating police “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“Failing to stand against these evil forces makes one a coward … we’ll see you at home, Don. Love you,” they expressed.
Weapons Stockpile and Legal Proceedings
Legal records show the defendant stockpiled a collection of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a rural property in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted with a gun range, weapons room and sniper’s nest.
“The firearms and ammunition were kept in the mobile home I shared with S.S., in a room we called the ‘gun room’,” Day admitted in the plea deal filed in court.
He stated he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the firearms, and also trained individuals on how to use the guns correctly.
The bargain will result in charges dropped that pertain to the alleged making of threats to public figures and FBI agents.
According to court documents, the individual had been banned from owning weapons and firearms because of his history of violent crimes.
Day, who has served 24 months in detention, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years in prison or a penalty of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be sentenced under the low end of the sentencing guidelines.
