American Individual Linked to Aussie Gunmen Strikes Plea Bargain with Prosecutors
An American citizen associated with the culprits behind the fatal Wieambilla attack that claimed six lives – among them two Queensland police officers – has accepted a less severe plea agreement.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr will appear in court on October 21 after finalizing the bargain with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is anticipated to admit guilt to a sole offense of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a deal to be approved by the judiciary in the current month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Authorities established clear connections between Day and the Train couple through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, killed officers from Queensland Arnold and McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla in 2022.
They were killed in a gun battle with police, following a protracted siege at the regional property.
US prosecutors stated Day corresponded via social media with the Trains around the time of the deadly ambush.
Day referred to Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling them he wanted to be at the scene physically.
Legal filings detailed how the couple had posted an end-times recording on YouTube after the shootings, saying authorities “came to kill us and we killed them”.
“Failing to stand against these evil forces makes one a coward … we’ll see you at home, Don. Love you,” the Trains said.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Court documents show Day stockpiled a collection of nine high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted with a shooting range, gun 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',” Day said in the agreement submitted in the legal system.
Day said he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the firearms, and also trained others on how to operate the firearms properly.
The plea deal will lead to charges dropped that relate to the accused making of threats to officials and FBI 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 two years in custody, could receive a highest sentence of up to 15 years in jail or a penalty of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement stipulates he will be judged under the minimum range of the legal sentencing standards.
