US Man Connected to Aussie Shooters Secures Plea Deal with Federal Attorneys
An American citizen linked with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla, Australia attack that took six lives – including two Queensland police officers – has accepted a watered-down plea deal.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr will face court on 21 October after striking the bargain with American authorities.
The individual with prior convictions, known online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is anticipated to admit guilt to a sole charge of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a arrangement to be sanctioned by the judiciary in the current month.
Connections to Australian Shooters
Investigators confirmed clear connections between Day and the Train couple through online posts.
The Trains, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, killed 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 protracted siege at the rural site.
US prosecutors said Day corresponded via social media with the Trains during the period of the deadly ambush.
Day described Queensland officers as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and declared they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, informing them he desired to be at Wieambilla physically.
Court documents outlined how the couple had posted an apocalyptic video on the video platform after the incident, saying authorities “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“Failing to stand against these evil forces makes one a coward … We will meet you at home, Don. With love,” they expressed.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Court documents show the defendant accumulated a cache of nine high-powered firearms and numerous bullets of ammunition at a country estate in Heber, Arizona, that was equipped with a shooting 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 plea deal submitted in the legal system.
Day said he regularly accessed both the gun room and the firearms, and also instructed individuals on how to operate the firearms properly.
The plea deal will result in charges dropped that pertain to the alleged issuing threats to officials and FBI agents.
Based on court documents, the individual had been prohibited from possessing guns and arms because of his violent criminal history.
The defendant, who has completed 24 months in detention, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in prison or a penalty of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement specifies he will be judged under the minimum range of the legal sentencing standards.
