US Individual Connected to Aussie Gunmen Strikes Plea Bargain with Prosecutors
A US man linked with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla, Australia shooting that claimed the lives of six individuals – among them two officers from Queensland – has agreed to a less severe plea deal.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr will appear in court on 21 October after finalizing the plea deal with American authorities.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is expected to admit guilt to a single offense of illegally owning guns and bullets in a deal to be approved by the judiciary in the current month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Authorities confirmed clear connections between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through online posts.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered Queensland police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla in 2022.
They were fatally shot in a gun battle with law enforcement, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
American officials said Day corresponded via online platforms with the Trains around the time of the deadly ambush.
Day referred to Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, informing the Trains he desired to be at Wieambilla in person.
Court documents outlined how the couple had posted an end-times recording on YouTube after the incident, 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,” the Trains said.
Weapons Stockpile and Legal Proceedings
Court documents reveal the defendant accumulated a collection of nine high-powered firearms and numerous bullets of ammo at a rural property in Heber, Arizona, that was outfitted with a gun 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 agreement submitted in the legal system.
He stated he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the weapons, and also trained others on how to use the firearms properly.
The bargain will result in charges dropped that relate to the accused issuing threats to public figures and federal agents.
According to legal files, the individual had been prohibited from possessing weapons and firearms because of his violent criminal history.
The defendant, who has completed 24 months in detention, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years in jail or a penalty of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be sentenced under the low end of the sentencing guidelines.
