American Individual Connected to Aussie Shooters Strikes Plea Bargain with Prosecutors
An American citizen linked with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla shooting that claimed six lives – including two officers from Queensland – has agreed to a less severe plea agreement.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on 21 October after finalizing the plea deal with American authorities.
The convicted felon, known online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is anticipated to admit guilt to a single offense of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a arrangement to be sanctioned by the court this month.
Links to Aussie Gunmen
Investigators established direct links between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, killed officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla in 2022.
The Trains were fatally shot in a gun battle with police, following a protracted siege at the regional property.
US prosecutors stated the accused communicated via social media with the perpetrators around the time of the deadly ambush.
He described Queensland police as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, informing the Trains he desired to be at Wieambilla physically.
Court documents detailed how Gareth and Stacey Train had uploaded an apocalyptic video on the video platform after the incident, saying police “came to kill us and we killed them”.
“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 Court Case
Legal records show Day accumulated a cache of nine high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a rural property in Heber, AZ, that was equipped with a gun range, weapons room and sniper’s nest.
“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 regularly accessed both the gun room and the firearms, and also instructed others on how to use the guns correctly.
The bargain will lead to dismissed counts that pertain to the alleged making of threats to officials and federal agents.
According to legal files, Day had been banned from possessing guns and arms because of his history of violent crimes.
Day, who has completed two years in detention, could receive a highest sentence of up to 15 years in jail or a fine of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be sentenced under the minimum range of the legal sentencing standards.
