American Man Linked to Australian Gunmen Strikes Plea Bargain with Prosecutors
A US man associated with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla, Australia attack that claimed 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 bargain with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is expected to admit guilt to a sole offense of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a deal to be sanctioned by the judiciary 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 officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were killed in a final shootout with police, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
American officials said Day communicated via social media with the perpetrators around the time of the fatal attack.
He described Queensland officers as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and declared they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, informing the Trains he desired to be at the scene in person.
Legal filings detailed how Gareth and Stacey Train had posted an end-times video on YouTube after the incident, 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 Court Case
Court documents reveal the defendant accumulated a collection 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 said in the plea deal filed in court.
Day said he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the weapons, and also instructed others on how to use the firearms properly.
The bargain will lead to dismissed counts that relate to the accused making of threats to officials and federal agents.
Based on legal files, the individual had been banned from possessing weapons and firearms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has served two years in custody, could receive a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in jail or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be sentenced under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.
