American Man Linked to Australian Gunmen Secures Plea Deal with Prosecutors
A US man linked with the culprits 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 face court on 21 October after striking the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The convicted felon, known online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a sole charge of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a arrangement to be approved by the judiciary in the current month.
Connections to Australian Shooters
Investigators established clear connections between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
This couple, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, killed officers from Queensland Arnold and McCrow, and neighbor Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla in 2022.
They were fatally shot in a final shootout with police, following a protracted siege at the regional property.
US prosecutors said Day corresponded via social media with the perpetrators during the period of the fatal attack.
Day referred to Queensland police as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling the Trains he wanted to be at Wieambilla in person.
Court documents detailed how Gareth and Stacey Train had uploaded an end-times video on YouTube after the shootings, stating police “came to kill us and we killed them”.
“Failing to stand against these evil forces makes one a coward … We will meet you at home, Don. With love,” they said.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Court documents show Day stockpiled a collection of multiple powerful guns and numerous bullets of ammunition at a rural property in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted with a shooting 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',” he admitted in the plea deal filed in the legal system.
Day said he regularly accessed both the gun room and the firearms, and also trained others on how to operate the guns correctly.
The plea deal will result in dismissed counts that pertain to the accused making of threats to public figures and federal agents.
According to legal files, Day had been banned from possessing guns and arms because of his violent criminal history.
The defendant, who has served two years in detention, could receive a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison or a penalty of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be judged under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.