American Individual Connected to Australian Gunmen Secures Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
An American citizen associated with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla attack that took six lives – among them two officers from Queensland – has agreed to a watered-down plea agreement.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on 21 October after striking the plea deal with American authorities.
The convicted felon, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to admit guilt to a sole charge of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a deal to be sanctioned by the court in the current month.
Links to Aussie Gunmen
Investigators confirmed clear connections between Day and the Train couple through digital communications.
This couple, along with Nathaniel Train, killed Queensland police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbor Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla in 2022.
They were killed in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
American officials said Day communicated via online platforms with the perpetrators around the time of the fatal attack.
He referred to Queensland officers as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and declared they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, telling the Trains he desired to be at the scene in person.
Court documents detailed how Gareth and Stacey Train had posted an end-times video on the video platform after the shootings, stating authorities “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“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.
Weapons Stockpile and Legal Proceedings
Court documents show the defendant accumulated a cache of nine high-powered firearms and numerous bullets of ammo at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted with a gun 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 submitted in the legal system.
He stated he frequently used both the gun room and the firearms, and also trained individuals on how to operate the guns properly.
The bargain will result in dismissed counts that relate to the accused issuing threats to officials and FBI agents.
According to legal files, Day had been prohibited from owning weapons and firearms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has completed 24 months in custody, faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be sentenced under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.
