American Man Connected to Australian Gunmen Secures Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
A US man linked with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla, Australia attack that took six lives – among them two officers from Queensland – has agreed to a watered-down plea agreement.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr will face court on October 21 after finalizing the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The convicted felon, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to admit guilt to a single offense of illegally owning guns and bullets in a arrangement to be sanctioned by the court this month.
Connections to Australian Shooters
Investigators established direct links between Day and the Train couple through online posts.
The Trains, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, killed Queensland police officers Arnold and McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
The Trains were fatally shot in a final shootout with police, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
American officials stated the accused corresponded via social media with the perpetrators around the time of the fatal attack.
He referred to Queensland officers as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, informing the Trains he desired to be at Wieambilla physically.
Legal filings outlined how the couple had uploaded an apocalyptic video on YouTube after the shootings, saying authorities “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,” the Trains expressed.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Legal records show Day stockpiled a collection of nine high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammo at a rural property in Heber, Arizona, that was outfitted with a gun range, weapons 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 said in the plea deal submitted in the legal system.
Day stated he regularly accessed both the gun room and the weapons, and also trained others on how to use the firearms correctly.
The plea deal will result in charges dropped that relate to the alleged issuing threats to public figures and FBI agents.
According to court documents, Day had been banned from possessing weapons and firearms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has served 24 months in detention, could receive a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in jail or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement specifies he will be judged under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.
