American Individual Connected to Australian Shooters Secures Plea Deal with Federal Attorneys
A US man associated with the culprits behind the fatal Wieambilla, Australia attack that took six lives – including two officers from Queensland – has agreed to a less severe plea agreement.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr will appear in court on 21 October after striking the bargain with American authorities.
The convicted felon, known online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is expected to admit guilt to a single offense of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a arrangement to be sanctioned by the court in the current month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Authorities established clear connections between the defendant and Gareth and Stacey Train through online posts.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbor Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were fatally shot in a gun battle with police, following a extended standoff at the regional property.
American officials said the accused corresponded via social media with the Trains during the period of the deadly ambush.
He referred to Queensland officers as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and declared they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, informing the Trains he wanted to be at the scene physically.
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 will meet you at home, Don. With love,” the Trains said.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Court documents reveal Day stockpiled a cache of nine high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammo at a rural property in Heber, Arizona, that was equipped with a shooting range, gun room and sniper’s nest.
“The firearms and ammunition were kept in the mobile home I shared with S.S., in a room we called the ‘gun room’,” Day said in the agreement filed in the legal system.
He stated he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the weapons, and also trained others on how to use the guns properly.
The bargain will lead to charges dropped that relate to the alleged issuing threats to officials and FBI agents.
Based on legal files, the individual had been banned from owning guns and arms because of his violent criminal history.
Day, who has served 24 months 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 agreement specifies he will be judged under the minimum range of the legal sentencing standards.
