US Individual Connected to Australian Shooters Strikes Plea Deal with Prosecutors
An American citizen associated with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla shooting that took the lives of six individuals – among them two Queensland police officers – has accepted a less severe plea agreement.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr. will face court on 21 October after striking the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, known online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is expected to admit guilt to a single offense of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a deal to be approved by the court in the current month.
Connections to Aussie Gunmen
Authorities confirmed clear connections between the defendant and the Train couple through online posts.
This couple, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered officers from Queensland Arnold and McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were killed in a gun battle with law enforcement, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
US prosecutors said the accused communicated via social media with the perpetrators around the time of the fatal attack.
Day referred to Queensland officers as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and declared they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, informing the Trains he wanted to be at Wieambilla in person.
Legal filings detailed how Gareth and Stacey Train had posted an end-times recording on YouTube after the shootings, saying police “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“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.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Legal records show the defendant stockpiled a cache of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a country estate in Heber, Arizona, that was outfitted 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',” Day admitted in the plea deal filed in court.
He said he regularly accessed both the gun room and the weapons, and also trained others on how to operate the firearms correctly.
The bargain will lead to charges dropped that relate to the alleged making of threats to officials and federal agents.
Based on court documents, the individual had been prohibited from owning weapons and firearms because of his history of violent crimes.
Day, who has completed 24 months in detention, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years in jail or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be judged under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.
