American Individual Connected to Aussie Gunmen Secures Plea Deal with Federal Attorneys
A US man associated with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla shooting that claimed six lives – including 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 striking the plea deal with American authorities.
The convicted felon, known online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a sole charge of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a arrangement to be approved by the judiciary in the current month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Investigators confirmed direct links between Day and the Train couple through online posts.
This couple, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, murdered officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
The Trains were killed in a final shootout with police, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
US prosecutors stated Day communicated via social media with the perpetrators during the period of the fatal attack.
He described Queensland officers as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and declared they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, telling the Trains he wanted to be at the scene physically.
Legal filings outlined how the couple had uploaded an end-times recording on YouTube after the shootings, saying police “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,” they said.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Legal records reveal Day accumulated a collection of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a rural property in Heber, Arizona, that was equipped with a shooting range, gun 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 said in the agreement filed in court.
He said he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the firearms, and also instructed others on how to operate the firearms correctly.
The bargain will lead to charges dropped that pertain to the accused issuing threats to officials and federal agents.
Based on court documents, the individual had been banned from possessing weapons and firearms because of his violent criminal history.
The defendant, who has completed two years in custody, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years in jail or a fine of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement stipulates he will be judged under the minimum range of the legal sentencing standards.
