American Individual Linked to Australian Gunmen Secures Plea Deal with Federal Attorneys
An American citizen linked with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla shooting that took six lives – including two Queensland police officers – has accepted a watered-down plea deal.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr. will face court on October 21 after finalizing the bargain with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, known online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is anticipated to plead guilty to a single charge of illegally owning guns and bullets in a deal to be sanctioned by the court this month.
Connections to Australian Shooters
Authorities established direct links between the defendant and Gareth and Stacey Train through online posts.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered Queensland police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbor Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla in 2022.
They were killed in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a extended standoff at the regional property.
American officials stated Day communicated via social media with the Trains around the time of the deadly ambush.
Day referred to Queensland police as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and declared they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, telling the Trains he wanted to be at Wieambilla physically.
Court documents detailed how the couple had posted an end-times video on the video platform after the incident, saying authorities “came to kill us and we killed them”.
“If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons, you’re a coward … We will meet you at home, Don. With love,” they said.
Weapons Stockpile and Court Case
Legal records show the defendant accumulated a collection of nine high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammo at a rural property in Heber, Arizona, 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’,” Day said in the plea deal submitted in the legal system.
Day stated he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the firearms, and also trained individuals on how to use the firearms properly.
The bargain will lead to charges dropped that pertain to the alleged making of threats to public figures and federal agents.
According to legal files, Day had been banned from owning guns and arms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has served two years in detention, faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in jail or a fine of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement specifies he will be sentenced under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.
