US Individual Connected to Australian Shooters Strikes Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
An American citizen associated with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla attack that claimed six lives – among them two Queensland police officers – has accepted a less severe plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on 21 October after finalizing the plea deal with American authorities.
The convicted felon, referred to online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is anticipated to admit guilt to a single charge of illegally owning firearms and ammunition in a arrangement to be approved by the judiciary this month.
Connections to Australian Shooters
Investigators confirmed direct links between Day and the Train couple through online posts.
The Trains, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, killed officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbor Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were killed in a gun battle with law enforcement, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
American officials stated Day communicated via online platforms with the Trains around the time of the deadly ambush.
Day referred to Queensland police as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and declared they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling the Trains he desired to be at Wieambilla physically.
Court documents detailed how Gareth and Stacey Train had posted an end-times video on YouTube after the incident, stating police “came to kill us and we killed them”.
“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 reveal Day accumulated a collection of multiple powerful guns and numerous bullets of ammo at a rural property in Heber, AZ, that was equipped with a gun 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 admitted in the agreement filed in court.
Day said he regularly accessed both the gun room and the weapons, and also instructed others on how to operate the firearms properly.
The bargain will result in dismissed counts that relate to the accused making of threats to public figures and federal agents.
Based on legal files, Day had been banned from possessing weapons and firearms because of his violent criminal history.
Day, who has completed two years in custody, faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years imprisonment in jail or a fine of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement stipulates he will be sentenced under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.
