US Individual Connected to Aussie Gunmen Strikes Plea Bargain with Prosecutors
A US man associated with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla, Australia attack that took six lives – among them two officers from Queensland – has agreed to a less severe plea agreement.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr. will face court on October 21 after striking the bargain with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, known online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is expected to admit guilt to a single offense of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a arrangement to be sanctioned by the judiciary in the current month.
Connections to Aussie Gunmen
Investigators confirmed direct links between Day and the Train couple through online posts.
This couple, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, 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 gun battle with law enforcement, following a extended standoff at the regional property.
American officials said Day corresponded via online platforms with the Trains around the time of the deadly ambush.
He described Queensland officers as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, informing the Trains he desired to be at the scene in person.
Legal filings detailed how Gareth and Stacey Train had uploaded an end-times video on YouTube after the incident, saying 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 reveal the defendant accumulated a collection of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a rural property in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted 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’,” he said in the plea deal filed in court.
He stated he frequently used both the weapons storage and the firearms, and also instructed others on how to operate the firearms correctly.
The bargain will lead to charges dropped that pertain to the alleged issuing threats to public figures and FBI agents.
Based on court documents, Day had been banned from possessing guns and arms because of his history of violent crimes.
Day, who has served two years in detention, could receive a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in jail or a penalty of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be judged under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.