American Man Connected to Australian Shooters Strikes Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
An American citizen associated with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla shooting that claimed six lives – including two officers from Queensland – has agreed to a less severe plea deal.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr will appear in court on October 21 after striking the bargain with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, known online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a sole charge of illegally owning firearms and ammunition in a deal to be approved by the judiciary this month.
Connections to Australian Shooters
Investigators confirmed clear connections between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, killed Queensland police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were fatally shot in a gun battle with police, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
US prosecutors stated the accused communicated via online platforms with the Trains during the period of the deadly ambush.
Day described Queensland police as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling the Trains he desired to be at the scene physically.
Legal filings outlined how Gareth and Stacey Train had uploaded an end-times video on YouTube after the shootings, stating police “came to kill us and we killed them”.
“If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons, you’re a coward … We will meet you at home, Don. With love,” they expressed.
Weapons Stockpile and Legal Proceedings
Legal records reveal the defendant accumulated a collection of nine high-powered firearms and numerous bullets of ammunition at a rural property in Heber, Arizona, that was equipped with a gun range, gun room and sniper hide.
“The guns and ammo were stored in the trailer I occupied with S.S., within a space we named the 'gun room',” he admitted in the agreement filed in the legal system.
Day said he frequently used both the gun room and the firearms, and also trained others on how to use the guns properly.
The bargain will lead to dismissed counts that pertain to the accused issuing threats to officials and federal agents.
According to legal files, the individual had been banned from owning guns and arms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has completed 24 months in detention, faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in jail or a fine of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be sentenced under the minimum range of the legal sentencing standards.
