American Man Linked to Australian Shooters Strikes Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
A US man associated with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla, Australia attack that claimed the lives of six individuals – among them two Queensland police officers – has accepted a watered-down plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will face court on 21 October after finalizing the plea deal with American authorities.
The convicted felon, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is expected to admit guilt to a sole charge of illegally owning firearms and ammunition in a arrangement to be approved by the judiciary this month.
Connections to Australian Shooters
Investigators established clear connections between Day and the Train couple through digital communications.
This couple, along with Nathaniel Train, killed officers from Queensland Arnold and McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla in 2022.
They were fatally shot in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
US prosecutors said the accused communicated via online platforms with the Trains during the period of the deadly ambush.
He described Queensland officers 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.
Court documents outlined how the couple had uploaded an end-times recording on the video platform after the shootings, stating authorities “came to kill us and we killed them”.
“Failing to stand against these evil forces makes one a coward … we’ll see you at home, Don. Love you,” the Trains expressed.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Legal records show the defendant accumulated a cache of nine high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammo at a rural property in Heber, AZ, that was equipped with a gun range, weapons 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’,” he said in the agreement filed in the legal system.
Day stated he regularly accessed both the gun room and the firearms, and also trained individuals on how to use the guns properly.
The bargain will result in dismissed counts that relate to the accused making of threats to public figures and FBI agents.
According to court documents, Day had been prohibited from possessing weapons and firearms because of his violent criminal history.
Day, who has served two years in custody, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in prison 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.
