US Individual Connected to Aussie Shooters Secures Plea Bargain with Prosecutors
An American citizen linked with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla, Australia attack that claimed the lives of six individuals – including two Queensland police officers – has agreed to a less severe plea deal.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr will face court on 21 October after finalizing the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The convicted felon, known online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a single offense of illegally owning guns and bullets in a arrangement to be approved by the judiciary in the current month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Investigators established clear connections between the defendant and Gareth and Stacey Train through online posts.
This couple, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, killed officers from Queensland Arnold and McCrow, and neighbor Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
The Trains were killed in a gun battle with police, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
American officials said the accused corresponded via online platforms 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 “no mercy whatsoever”, telling them he desired to be at the scene physically.
Legal filings detailed how the couple had posted an end-times recording on the video platform after the shootings, stating 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 expressed.
Weapons Stockpile and Court Case
Legal records show Day accumulated a collection of nine high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammo at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was equipped with a shooting 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 submitted in the legal system.
Day said he frequently used both the weapons storage and the weapons, and also instructed individuals on how to operate the guns correctly.
The plea deal will lead to dismissed counts that relate to the accused issuing threats to public figures and FBI agents.
According to legal files, Day had been prohibited from owning guns and arms because of his violent criminal history.
The defendant, who has served two years in custody, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in jail or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be judged under the low end of the sentencing guidelines.
