American Man Connected to Aussie Gunmen Secures Plea Deal with Prosecutors
An American citizen linked with the culprits behind the deadly Wieambilla, Australia shooting that took the lives of six individuals – including two officers from Queensland – has accepted a watered-down plea deal.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr will appear in court on 21 October after striking the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, known online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to plead guilty to a sole offense of illegally owning guns and bullets in a deal to be sanctioned by the judiciary this month.
Connections to Aussie Gunmen
Authorities confirmed direct links between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered Queensland police officers Arnold and McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla in 2022.
The Trains were fatally shot in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
US prosecutors stated Day corresponded via online platforms with the Trains during the period of the fatal attack.
He referred to Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and declared they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling them he wanted to be at Wieambilla physically.
Court documents detailed how the couple had uploaded an end-times recording on the video platform after the shootings, saying police “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,” the Trains said.
Weapons Stockpile and Court Case
Legal records reveal the defendant accumulated a cache of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a rural property in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted 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 the legal system.
Day stated he frequently used both the gun room and the weapons, and also trained others on how to use the firearms properly.
The bargain will lead to dismissed counts that pertain to the accused making of threats to officials and federal agents.
Based on legal files, Day had been banned from possessing guns and arms because of his violent criminal history.
Day, who has served two years in custody, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years in jail or a penalty of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement specifies he will be judged under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.
