US Man Linked to Aussie Shooters Strikes Plea Bargain with Prosecutors
An American citizen associated with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla, Australia attack that claimed the lives of six individuals – among them two Queensland police officers – has accepted a watered-down plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr will face court on October 21 after striking the bargain with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a sole charge of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a deal to be sanctioned by the court this month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Investigators established direct links between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
This couple, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered Queensland police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
The Trains were killed in a gun battle with police, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
American officials stated the accused communicated via online platforms with the Trains around the time of the deadly ambush.
Day described Queensland officers as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and declared they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling the Trains he desired to be at Wieambilla physically.
Court documents outlined how the couple had posted an apocalyptic recording on the video platform after the shootings, 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,” they said.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Court documents reveal Day stockpiled a collection of multiple powerful guns and numerous bullets of ammo at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted with a gun 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',” Day admitted in the agreement submitted in court.
He stated he regularly accessed both the gun room and the weapons, and also instructed others on how to use the firearms properly.
The bargain will result in dismissed counts that relate to the accused making of threats to officials and FBI agents.
Based on court documents, Day had been prohibited from possessing guns and arms because of his history of violent crimes.
Day, who has completed 24 months in detention, could receive a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in jail or a fine of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be sentenced under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.
