US Man Connected to Australian Gunmen Secures Plea Deal with Federal Attorneys
A US man associated with the culprits behind the fatal Wieambilla, Australia attack that claimed the lives of six individuals – including two Queensland police officers – has agreed to a less severe plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on October 21 after striking the plea deal with American authorities.
The individual with prior convictions, known online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to admit guilt to a sole offense of illegally owning guns and bullets in a deal to be approved by the court this month.
Links to Aussie Gunmen
Authorities confirmed clear connections between the defendant and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
The Trains, 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.
The Trains were fatally shot in a gun battle with police, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
US prosecutors stated Day communicated via social media with the Trains during the period of the deadly ambush.
He described Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, telling the Trains he wanted to be at Wieambilla physically.
Court documents outlined how the couple had posted an end-times video on YouTube after the shootings, saying 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,” the Trains said.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Legal records reveal the defendant stockpiled a cache of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a country estate in Heber, Arizona, that was equipped 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’,” he admitted in the agreement filed in the legal system.
He said he frequently used both the gun room and the firearms, and also instructed individuals on how to operate the firearms correctly.
The bargain will result in dismissed counts that pertain to the alleged issuing threats to public figures and federal agents.
Based on court documents, Day had been banned from owning weapons and firearms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has served two years in detention, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years in prison or a fine of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement specifies he will be judged under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.
