US Individual Connected to Australian Gunmen Strikes Plea Deal with Prosecutors
A US man associated with the culprits behind the deadly Wieambilla attack that claimed six lives – including two Queensland police officers – has agreed to a watered-down plea agreement.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr will face court on 21 October after finalizing the plea deal with American authorities.
The convicted felon, known online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to plead guilty to a single offense of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a arrangement to be approved by the judiciary this month.
Connections to Aussie Gunmen
Investigators confirmed clear connections between Day and the Train couple through online posts.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, killed officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
The Trains were killed in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a extended standoff at the regional property.
US prosecutors said Day corresponded via online platforms with the Trains during the period of the deadly ambush.
Day referred to Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, telling the Trains he desired to be at Wieambilla in person.
Legal filings detailed how the couple had posted an end-times recording on YouTube 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 said.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Legal records reveal Day stockpiled a collection of nine high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammo at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted with a shooting range, gun 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',” Day said in the plea deal submitted in court.
He said he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the weapons, and also instructed individuals on how to use the firearms properly.
The plea deal will lead to charges dropped that pertain to the accused making of threats to officials and federal agents.
According to court documents, Day had been prohibited from possessing weapons and firearms because of his violent criminal history.
Day, who has completed 24 months in detention, could receive a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in jail or a penalty of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be sentenced under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.
