US Man Linked to Aussie Gunmen Secures Plea Deal with Federal Attorneys
An American citizen linked with the culprits behind the deadly Wieambilla, Australia shooting that took six lives – including two officers from Queensland – has accepted a watered-down plea agreement.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will face court on 21 October after striking the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is expected to admit guilt to a single offense of illegally owning firearms and ammunition in a arrangement to be approved by the judiciary in the current month.
Connections to Australian Shooters
Investigators confirmed direct links between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered Queensland police officers Arnold and McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were killed in a gun battle with law enforcement, following a extended standoff at the regional property.
US prosecutors stated the accused corresponded via online platforms with the Trains around the time of the fatal attack.
He described Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, informing the Trains he wanted to be at the scene in person.
Legal filings outlined how the couple had posted an apocalyptic video on the video platform after the incident, saying authorities “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons, you’re a coward … We will meet you at home, Don. With love,” the Trains said.
Weapons Stockpile and Court Case
Court documents show the defendant stockpiled a collection of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was equipped with a shooting range, weapons room and sniper’s nest.
“The guns and ammo were stored in the trailer I occupied with S.S., within a space we named the 'gun room',” he said in the plea deal submitted in the legal system.
Day stated he frequently used both the weapons storage and the firearms, and also trained individuals on how to use the firearms properly.
The bargain will lead to charges dropped that relate to the alleged issuing threats to officials and FBI agents.
According to court documents, the individual had been banned from owning guns and arms because of his violent criminal history.
The defendant, who has completed two years in detention, could receive a maximum penalty of up to 15 years imprisonment in prison or a penalty of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement stipulates he will be sentenced under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.
