US Man Connected to Australian Gunmen Strikes Plea Deal with Prosecutors
An American citizen associated with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla shooting that took six lives – including two officers from Queensland – has accepted a less severe plea agreement.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr. will face court on October 21 after finalizing the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a sole charge of illegally owning firearms and ammunition in a deal to be sanctioned by the court in the current month.
Connections to Aussie Gunmen
Investigators established clear connections between the defendant and the Train couple through online posts.
This couple, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered officers from Queensland Arnold and McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were fatally shot in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
US prosecutors said Day corresponded via social media with the perpetrators around the time of the deadly ambush.
Day referred to Queensland officers as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling the Trains he desired to be at Wieambilla physically.
Legal filings outlined how the couple had uploaded an end-times recording on the video platform after the incident, stating authorities “came to kill us and we killed them”.
“If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons, you’re a coward … We will meet you at home, Don. With love,” they expressed.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Court documents reveal the defendant accumulated a cache of multiple powerful guns and numerous bullets of ammo at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was equipped with a gun range, weapons 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 admitted in the agreement submitted in the legal system.
He said he frequently used both the weapons storage and the firearms, and also trained others on how to operate the firearms correctly.
The plea deal will result in dismissed counts that relate to the alleged issuing threats to public figures and federal agents.
Based on legal files, the individual had been prohibited from owning weapons and firearms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has completed two years in custody, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in prison or a penalty of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement stipulates he will be sentenced under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.
