American Man Connected to Australian Shooters Secures Plea Deal with Prosecutors
An American citizen associated with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla shooting that took the lives of six individuals – including two Queensland police officers – has agreed to a less severe plea deal.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on October 21 after finalizing the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is expected to admit guilt to a single offense of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a arrangement to be sanctioned by the court in the current month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Investigators confirmed clear connections between Day and the Train couple through online posts.
This couple, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered officers from Queensland Arnold and McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
The Trains were fatally shot in a gun battle with law enforcement, following a extended standoff at the regional property.
US prosecutors said the accused corresponded via social media with the Trains around the time of the fatal attack.
Day referred to Queensland police 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 Gareth and Stacey Train had posted an end-times video on YouTube after the shootings, saying authorities “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“Failing to stand against these evil forces makes one a coward … we’ll see you at home, Don. Love you,” they said.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Legal records show Day accumulated a collection of multiple powerful guns and numerous bullets of ammo at a rural property in Heber, Arizona, that was equipped with a gun range, weapons 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 said in the plea deal filed in court.
He stated he frequently used both the weapons storage and the weapons, and also instructed others on how to operate the guns correctly.
The plea deal will result in charges dropped that relate to the alleged issuing threats to public figures and federal agents.
Based on legal files, the individual had been prohibited from owning guns and arms because of his violent criminal history.
The defendant, who has completed two years in custody, could receive a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in prison or a fine of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be judged under the minimum range of the legal sentencing standards.
