American Man Linked to Australian Shooters Secures Plea Bargain with Prosecutors
A US man linked with the culprits behind the deadly Wieambilla shooting that took six lives – among them two Queensland police officers – has accepted a watered-down plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will face court on 21 October after finalizing the bargain with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a single charge of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a deal to be sanctioned by the court in the current month.
Links to Aussie Gunmen
Investigators established direct links between Day 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.
They were killed in a final shootout with police, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
American officials stated Day corresponded via social media with the Trains around the time of the fatal attack.
He described Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, informing them he desired to be at Wieambilla in person.
Legal filings outlined how the couple had posted an apocalyptic recording on the video platform after the shootings, stating police “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“Failing to stand against these evil forces makes one a coward … we’ll see you at home, Don. Love you,” the Trains expressed.
Weapons Stockpile and Legal Proceedings
Legal records reveal the defendant accumulated a collection of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was equipped with a shooting 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 said in the plea deal submitted in court.
Day stated he frequently used both the gun room and the firearms, and also instructed individuals on how to operate the guns properly.
The bargain will lead to charges dropped that relate to the accused making of threats to public figures and federal agents.
According to court documents, the individual had been prohibited from possessing weapons and firearms because of his violent criminal history.
The defendant, who has completed 24 months in detention, faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years imprisonment in prison or a penalty of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be sentenced under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.
