US Individual Linked to Australian Gunmen Strikes Plea Deal with Prosecutors
An American citizen linked with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla, Australia shooting that claimed the lives of six individuals – among them two Queensland police officers – has agreed to a watered-down plea agreement.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr will face court on 21 October after finalizing the bargain with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, known online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is anticipated to admit guilt to a single charge of illegally owning firearms and ammunition in a deal to be sanctioned by the judiciary this month.
Links to Aussie Gunmen
Investigators established direct links between the defendant and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
This couple, along with Nathaniel Train, killed officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were killed in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
American officials said the accused communicated via online platforms with the Trains around the time of the deadly ambush.
He referred to Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, informing the Trains he desired to be at the scene in person.
Legal filings detailed how the couple had posted an end-times recording on the video platform after the incident, saying police “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“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
Legal records reveal Day accumulated 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, gun 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’,” he admitted in the agreement submitted in court.
Day said he frequently used both the weapons storage and the weapons, and also trained individuals on how to use the firearms properly.
The bargain will lead to charges dropped that relate to the accused making of threats to public figures and federal agents.
According to legal files, Day had been banned from owning weapons and firearms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has served 24 months in detention, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years in prison or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be sentenced under the low end of the sentencing guidelines.
