American Man Connected to Australian Gunmen Secures Plea Deal with Federal Attorneys
A US man associated with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla, Australia attack that took six lives – including two officers from Queensland – has agreed to a less severe plea agreement.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on 21 October after striking the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a sole offense of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a deal to be approved by the court this month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Authorities established direct links between Day and the Train couple through online posts.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered officers from Queensland Arnold and McCrow, and neighbor Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
The Trains were killed in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a protracted siege at the regional property.
US prosecutors said the accused corresponded via social media with the Trains during the period of the deadly ambush.
Day described Queensland officers as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, informing the Trains he desired to be at Wieambilla in person.
Court documents detailed how Gareth and Stacey Train had posted an apocalyptic recording on the video platform after the incident, saying police “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“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 expressed.
Weapons Stockpile and Legal Proceedings
Legal records show the defendant accumulated a cache of nine high-powered firearms and numerous bullets of ammo at a country estate in Heber, Arizona, that was equipped with a shooting range, weapons room and sniper hide.
“The firearms and ammunition were kept in the mobile home I shared with S.S., in a room we called the ‘gun room’,” Day admitted 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 operate the guns properly.
The plea deal will lead to charges dropped that pertain to the accused making of threats to officials and federal agents.
According to court documents, the individual had been banned from possessing guns and arms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has completed 24 months in custody, faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years imprisonment in prison or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be judged under the minimum range of the legal sentencing standards.
