American Man Linked to Aussie Shooters Strikes Plea Deal with Prosecutors
A US man associated with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla shooting that took the lives of six individuals – including two Queensland police officers – has accepted a watered-down plea agreement.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr will face court on 21 October after finalizing the bargain with American authorities.
The convicted felon, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a single offense of illegally owning firearms and ammunition in a deal to be sanctioned by the judiciary in the current month.
Connections to Australian Shooters
Investigators established direct links between Day and the Train couple through digital communications.
This couple, along with Nathaniel Train, killed Queensland police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property 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 stated the accused corresponded via social media with the Trains during the period of the deadly ambush.
He described Queensland police as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling them he wanted to be at Wieambilla physically.
Legal filings detailed how Gareth and Stacey Train had uploaded an end-times video on YouTube after the incident, stating authorities “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“Failing to stand against these evil forces makes one a coward … We will meet you at home, Don. With love,” they said.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Court documents reveal Day stockpiled a collection of nine high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammo at a rural property in Heber, AZ, that was equipped with a shooting range, weapons 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',” he said in the agreement filed in court.
He stated he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the firearms, and also trained others on how to use the guns properly.
The bargain will lead to dismissed counts that pertain to the accused issuing threats to officials and FBI agents.
Based on court documents, the individual had been banned from owning weapons and firearms because of his violent criminal history.
The defendant, who has completed two years in detention, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years in jail or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be sentenced under the low end of the sentencing guidelines.
