US Man Connected to Aussie Shooters Secures Plea Bargain with Prosecutors
A US man associated with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla attack that claimed the lives of six individuals – including two Queensland police officers – has accepted a less severe plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on 21 October after finalizing the bargain with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to admit guilt to a single charge of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a deal to be approved by the judiciary this month.
Connections to Aussie Gunmen
Authorities established clear connections between Day and the Train couple through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, killed officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
The Trains were killed in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
American officials said Day corresponded via social media with the perpetrators around the time of the deadly ambush.
Day referred to Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling them he wanted to be at the scene physically.
Legal filings detailed how the couple had posted an apocalyptic recording on the video platform after the incident, saying 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,” the Trains said.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Court documents show Day accumulated a cache of multiple powerful guns and numerous bullets of ammunition at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was equipped with a gun range, weapons room and sniper hide.
“The firearms and ammunition were kept in the mobile home I shared with S.S., in a room we called the ‘gun room’,” Day admitted in the plea deal filed in the legal system.
He said he regularly accessed both the gun room and the weapons, and also instructed individuals on how to use the guns properly.
The bargain will lead to charges dropped that relate to the alleged issuing threats to officials and federal agents.
Based on court documents, the individual had been banned from owning guns and arms because of his violent criminal history.
Day, who has completed 24 months in detention, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in jail or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement stipulates he will be sentenced under the low end of the sentencing guidelines.
