US Man Connected to Australian Shooters Strikes Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
An American citizen associated with the culprits behind the deadly Wieambilla, Australia attack that claimed six lives – including two officers from Queensland – has accepted a watered-down plea agreement.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr will appear in court on 21 October after finalizing the bargain with American authorities.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a sole charge of illegally owning firearms and ammunition in a arrangement to be approved by the court in the current month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Authorities confirmed clear connections between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through online posts.
This couple, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, murdered officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla in 2022.
They were fatally shot in a final shootout with police, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
US prosecutors said the accused communicated via social media with the perpetrators during the period 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 desired to be at the scene physically.
Court documents detailed how the couple had uploaded an end-times video on YouTube after the incident, stating authorities “came to kill us and we killed them”.
“Failing to stand against these evil forces makes one a coward … we’ll see you at home, Don. Love you,” they said.
Weapons Stockpile and Court Case
Court documents show the defendant accumulated a cache of nine high-powered firearms and numerous bullets of ammo at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was equipped with a gun 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',” Day said in the agreement submitted in the legal system.
Day stated he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the weapons, and also instructed others on how to use the firearms correctly.
The bargain will result in dismissed counts that relate to the accused issuing threats to public figures and federal agents.
Based on legal files, Day had been banned from possessing guns and arms because of his history of violent crimes.
Day, who has served 24 months in custody, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years in jail or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement stipulates he will be sentenced under the low end of the sentencing guidelines.
