American Individual Linked to Aussie Shooters Strikes Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
An American citizen linked with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla, Australia attack that took the lives of six individuals – among them two officers from Queensland – has accepted a less severe plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will face court on 21 October after striking the plea deal with American authorities.
The convicted felon, known online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to plead guilty to a sole charge of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a deal to be approved by the court this month.
Connections to Australian Shooters
Investigators established 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 neighbor Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
The Trains were fatally shot in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
American officials said Day corresponded via social media with the Trains around the time of the deadly ambush.
He referred to Queensland officers as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and declared they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling them he desired to be at Wieambilla in person.
Court documents outlined how the couple had uploaded an apocalyptic video on the video platform after the shootings, saying police “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,” the Trains expressed.
Weapons Stockpile and Legal Proceedings
Court documents show the defendant accumulated a collection of multiple powerful guns and numerous bullets of ammunition at a rural property in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted 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.
Day stated he regularly accessed both the gun room and the firearms, and also instructed individuals on how to operate the guns correctly.
The plea deal will result in dismissed counts that relate to the accused issuing threats to public figures and federal agents.
According to legal files, the individual 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 maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison or a fine of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be judged under the low end of the sentencing guidelines.
