US Individual Linked to Aussie Gunmen Secures Plea Bargain with Prosecutors
A US man linked with the culprits behind the deadly Wieambilla shooting that took the lives of six individuals – among them two Queensland police officers – has agreed to a watered-down plea deal.
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 plead guilty to a sole offense of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a arrangement to be sanctioned by the judiciary in the current month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Authorities confirmed direct links between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were fatally shot in a gun battle with police, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
US prosecutors said the accused corresponded via social media with the perpetrators around the time of the deadly ambush.
Day described Queensland police as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, telling the Trains he desired to be at Wieambilla physically.
Legal filings outlined how the couple had posted an apocalyptic recording on the video platform after the shootings, stating police “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons, you’re a coward … we’ll see you at home, Don. Love you,” they said.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Legal records reveal Day accumulated a collection of nine high-powered firearms and numerous bullets of ammunition at a country estate in Heber, Arizona, that was equipped with a gun range, gun 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 said in the plea deal filed in the legal system.
He said he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the weapons, and also instructed individuals on how to operate the firearms properly.
The bargain will result in charges dropped that pertain to the accused issuing threats to public figures and federal agents.
According to legal files, the individual had been banned from possessing guns and arms because of his violent criminal history.
Day, who has served two years in custody, could receive a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in jail or a penalty of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be judged under the minimum range of the legal sentencing standards.
