US Man Linked to Australian Shooters Strikes Plea Bargain with Prosecutors
A US man linked with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla, Australia attack that claimed the lives of six individuals – among them two Queensland police officers – has agreed to a watered-down plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on 21 October after finalizing the plea deal with American authorities.
The individual with prior convictions, known online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to plead guilty to a single charge of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a deal to be approved by the court this month.
Connections to Australian Shooters
Authorities established direct links between Day and the Train couple through online posts.
The Trains, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, murdered officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
The Trains were fatally shot in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
US prosecutors stated Day corresponded via online platforms with the Trains during the period of the fatal attack.
He described Queensland police as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, informing them he desired to be at Wieambilla in person.
Legal filings outlined how Gareth and Stacey Train had uploaded an end-times video on YouTube after the incident, 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’ll see you at home, Don. Love you,” the Trains expressed.
Weapons Stockpile and Legal Proceedings
Legal records reveal the defendant stockpiled a cache of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammo at a country estate 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 plea deal submitted in court.
Day said he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the firearms, and also instructed individuals on how to use the firearms properly.
The bargain will result in charges dropped that relate to the accused issuing threats to officials and federal agents.
According to legal files, the individual had been banned from possessing weapons and firearms because of his violent criminal history.
Day, who has completed 24 months in detention, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in jail or a fine of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement stipulates he will be sentenced under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.