American Man Connected to Aussie Gunmen Secures Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
An American citizen linked with the culprits behind the deadly Wieambilla, Australia attack that claimed six lives – including two officers from Queensland – has agreed to a less severe plea agreement.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will face court on 21 October after finalizing the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The convicted felon, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a sole offense of illegally owning guns and bullets in a arrangement to be approved by the judiciary this month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Authorities established direct links between the defendant and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
This couple, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, killed Queensland police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbor Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla in 2022.
The Trains were killed in a final shootout with police, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
American officials stated Day communicated via online platforms with the Trains around the time of the deadly ambush.
Day described Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, telling the Trains he wanted to be at Wieambilla physically.
Court documents outlined how the couple had uploaded an end-times recording on the video platform after the incident, stating police “came to kill us and we killed them”.
“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 Legal Proceedings
Legal records show the defendant stockpiled a collection of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was equipped 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',” he admitted in the agreement submitted in court.
He said he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the weapons, and also trained individuals on how to operate the firearms properly.
The plea deal will lead to dismissed counts that pertain to the accused making of threats to public figures and FBI agents.
Based on legal files, the individual had been banned from owning weapons and firearms because of his violent criminal history.
The defendant, who has served two years in detention, could receive a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in jail or a penalty of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement specifies he will be sentenced under the low end of the sentencing guidelines.
