US Man Connected to Australian Gunmen Secures Plea Deal with Federal Attorneys
An American citizen linked with the culprits behind the deadly Wieambilla, Australia shooting that took the lives of six individuals – among them two Queensland police officers – has accepted a less severe plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will face 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 sole charge of illegally owning firearms and ammunition in a deal to be sanctioned by the judiciary this month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Authorities established direct links between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, killed Queensland police officers Arnold and McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla in 2022.
The Trains were fatally shot in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a extended standoff at the regional property.
American officials said Day communicated via online platforms with the perpetrators around the time of the fatal attack.
He described Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, informing them he wanted to be at Wieambilla in person.
Legal filings outlined how the couple had uploaded an end-times recording on the video platform after the shootings, saying police “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,” they said.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Legal records show the defendant accumulated a cache of nine high-powered firearms and numerous bullets of ammunition at a rural property 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',” he said in the agreement filed in the legal system.
Day stated he regularly accessed both the gun room and the weapons, and also trained individuals on how to use the guns properly.
The bargain will result in dismissed counts that pertain to the alleged issuing threats to public figures and FBI agents.
According to court documents, the individual had been prohibited from possessing weapons and firearms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has completed 24 months in detention, faces a highest sentence 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 low end of the sentencing guidelines.