American Man Connected to Australian Shooters Secures Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
A US man associated with the culprits behind the fatal Wieambilla shooting that claimed six lives – including two officers from Queensland – has accepted a less severe plea agreement.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr will face court on October 21 after finalizing the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The convicted felon, known online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a single offense of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a arrangement to be sanctioned by the court in the current month.
Links to Aussie Gunmen
Authorities established clear connections between Day 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 remote property in Wieambilla in 2022.
The Trains were fatally shot in a final shootout with police, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
US prosecutors said the accused corresponded via social media with the perpetrators around the time of the deadly ambush.
He referred to Queensland police as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, informing the Trains he wanted to be at Wieambilla physically.
Legal filings detailed how Gareth and Stacey Train had uploaded an end-times recording on the video platform 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 will meet you at home, Don. With love,” they said.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Legal records show Day accumulated a cache of nine high-powered firearms and numerous bullets of ammunition at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted with a shooting range, gun 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 plea deal submitted in the legal system.
He said he frequently used both the gun room and the firearms, and also trained individuals on how to operate the guns properly.
The plea deal will result in charges dropped that pertain to the alleged making of threats to officials and FBI agents.
According to court documents, Day had been banned from possessing guns and arms because of his history of violent crimes.
Day, who has served two years in custody, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in prison or a penalty of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement stipulates he will be judged under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.