US Individual Linked to Aussie Gunmen Secures Plea Deal with Prosecutors
A US man linked with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla 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 October 21 after striking the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The convicted felon, known online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is expected to admit guilt to a sole charge of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a arrangement to be approved by the court in the current month.
Links to Aussie Gunmen
Investigators established direct links between the defendant and the Train couple through online posts.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered Queensland police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbor Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla in 2022.
The Trains were killed in a gun battle with law enforcement, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
American officials said the accused communicated via social media with the Trains around the time of the deadly ambush.
Day described 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 outlined how the couple had uploaded an apocalyptic recording on the video platform after the shootings, saying authorities “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 Legal Proceedings
Court documents reveal Day stockpiled a cache of nine high-powered firearms and numerous bullets of ammunition at a rural property in Heber, Arizona, that was equipped with a shooting range, gun room and sniper hide.
“The firearms and ammunition were kept in the mobile home I shared with S.S., in a room we called the ‘gun room’,” he admitted in the agreement filed in the legal system.
Day said he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the firearms, and also trained individuals on how to operate the firearms properly.
The bargain will result in charges dropped that relate to the accused issuing threats to officials and federal agents.
Based on legal files, the individual had been prohibited from owning weapons and firearms because of his history of violent crimes.
Day, who has served 24 months in detention, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years in jail or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement stipulates he will be sentenced under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.