American Individual Linked to Australian Gunmen Strikes Plea Deal with Federal Attorneys
An American citizen associated with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla attack that claimed six lives – including two officers from Queensland – has agreed to a less severe plea deal.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr will face court on October 21 after striking the plea deal with American authorities.
The convicted felon, known online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is anticipated to admit guilt to a single offense of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a arrangement to be approved by the court this month.
Connections to Australian Shooters
Investigators established direct links between the defendant and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, killed officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
The Trains were killed in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a protracted siege at the regional property.
American officials stated Day corresponded via online platforms with the perpetrators around the time of the fatal attack.
Day referred to Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and declared they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, informing the Trains he desired to be at Wieambilla in person.
Court documents detailed how Gareth and Stacey Train had posted an end-times video on YouTube after the shootings, 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,” the Trains expressed.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Court documents show the defendant stockpiled a cache of nine high-powered firearms and numerous bullets of ammo at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted with a shooting range, gun 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’,” he said in the plea deal filed in the legal system.
He stated he regularly accessed both the gun room and the weapons, and also trained others on how to operate the guns properly.
The bargain will result in dismissed counts that pertain to the alleged making of threats to officials and FBI agents.
Based on court documents, Day had been banned from owning weapons and firearms because of his violent criminal history.
The defendant, who has served two years in custody, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years in jail or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement specifies he will be sentenced under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.
