US Man Connected to Australian Gunmen Strikes Plea Deal with Prosecutors
An American citizen associated with the culprits behind the fatal Wieambilla attack that took six lives – among them two officers from Queensland – has accepted a less severe plea deal.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on October 21 after striking the bargain with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to plead guilty to a single offense of illegally owning firearms and ammunition in a deal to be approved by the judiciary in the current month.
Links to Aussie Gunmen
Investigators confirmed direct links between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla in 2022.
They were killed in a gun battle with law enforcement, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
US prosecutors said Day communicated via online platforms with the Trains during the period of the deadly ambush.
Day referred to Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, informing the Trains he desired to be at Wieambilla in person.
Legal filings outlined how Gareth and Stacey Train had uploaded an apocalyptic video 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,” the Trains said.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Court documents reveal 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 gun 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’,” he admitted in the plea deal submitted in court.
Day said he frequently used both the gun room and the weapons, and also trained others on how to use the firearms properly.
The plea deal will result in dismissed counts that pertain to the accused issuing threats to officials and federal agents.
According to court documents, Day had been banned from possessing weapons and firearms because of his violent criminal history.
The defendant, who has served 24 months in custody, could receive a highest sentence of up to 15 years in prison or a fine of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement specifies he will be judged under the low end of the sentencing guidelines.
