American Individual Connected to Australian Gunmen Strikes Plea Deal with Prosecutors
A US man associated with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla attack that took the lives of six individuals – among them two officers from Queensland – has accepted a watered-down plea agreement.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on October 21 after finalizing the bargain with American authorities.
The individual with prior convictions, known online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to plead guilty to a sole offense of illegally owning firearms and ammunition in a arrangement to be approved by the judiciary this month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Investigators established clear connections between the defendant and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
This couple, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered Queensland police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were fatally shot in a gun battle with law enforcement, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
US prosecutors said Day communicated via social media with the perpetrators during the period of the deadly ambush.
Day described Queensland officers as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, informing them he desired to be at Wieambilla in person.
Court documents detailed how the couple had uploaded an end-times video on YouTube after the shootings, saying authorities “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons, you’re a coward … We will meet you at home, Don. With love,” they said.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Legal records show Day accumulated a collection of nine high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted 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’,” Day admitted in the plea deal submitted in the legal system.
He said he regularly accessed both the gun room and the weapons, and also trained individuals on how to use the guns correctly.
The plea deal will result in dismissed counts that pertain to the accused issuing threats to officials and FBI agents.
Based on legal files, the individual had been prohibited from possessing guns and arms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has served 24 months in custody, could receive a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in jail or a penalty of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be judged under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.
