US Man Linked to Aussie Shooters Secures Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
A US man linked with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla attack that claimed the lives of six individuals – including two Queensland police officers – has agreed to a watered-down plea agreement.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on 21 October after striking the bargain with American authorities.
The individual with prior convictions, known online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to plead guilty to a single charge of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a arrangement to be approved by the judiciary in the current month.
Connections to Aussie Gunmen
Investigators established direct links between the defendant and the Train couple through digital communications.
This couple, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, killed officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were killed in a final shootout with police, following a protracted siege at the regional property.
American officials said Day communicated via social media with the perpetrators around the time of the fatal attack.
He referred to Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and declared they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, informing the Trains he desired to be at the scene physically.
Legal filings detailed how the couple had uploaded an end-times video on the video platform after the shootings, stating authorities “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“Failing to stand against these evil forces makes one a coward … we’ll see you at home, Don. Love you,” the Trains said.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Court documents reveal Day accumulated a cache of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammo at a country estate in Heber, Arizona, 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',” Day said in the agreement submitted in court.
Day said he frequently used both the weapons storage and the firearms, and also instructed others on how to use the firearms correctly.
The plea deal will lead to dismissed counts that pertain to the alleged making of threats to officials and FBI agents.
Based on legal files, Day had been banned from owning weapons and firearms because of his history of violent crimes.
Day, who has completed 24 months in custody, faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in jail or a penalty of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be sentenced under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.
