US Individual Linked to Australian Gunmen Secures Plea Bargain with Prosecutors
A US man linked with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla shooting that took the lives of six individuals – among them two officers from Queensland – has accepted a watered-down plea deal.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on October 21 after finalizing the bargain with US prosecutors.
The convicted felon, referred to online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a sole offense of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a deal to be sanctioned by the judiciary this month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Investigators established direct links between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, killed officers from Queensland Arnold and 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 regional property.
American officials stated Day corresponded via social media with the perpetrators around the time of the deadly ambush.
He referred to Queensland police as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and declared they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, telling them he wanted to be at the scene physically.
Court documents detailed how Gareth and Stacey Train had posted an apocalyptic recording on the video platform after the shootings, stating authorities “came to kill us and we killed them”.
“If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons, you’re a coward … We will meet you at home, Don. With love,” they said.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Court documents reveal Day accumulated a cache of nine high-powered firearms and numerous bullets of ammo at a rural property in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted with a gun range, weapons room and sniper hide.
“The guns and ammo were stored in the trailer I occupied with S.S., within a space we named the 'gun room',” Day admitted in the plea deal filed in court.
He stated he frequently used both the gun room and the firearms, and also trained others on how to operate the guns correctly.
The plea deal will lead to charges dropped that relate to the alleged issuing threats to officials and federal agents.
Based on legal files, the individual had been banned from owning guns and arms because of his history of violent crimes.
Day, who has served two years in custody, could receive a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison or a penalty of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be sentenced under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.