US Man Connected to Aussie Gunmen Strikes Plea Bargain with Prosecutors
An American citizen associated with the culprits behind the deadly Wieambilla, Australia shooting that took the lives of six individuals – among them two Queensland police officers – has agreed to a less severe plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on October 21 after finalizing the bargain with American authorities.
The convicted felon, known online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is expected to admit guilt to a sole offense of illegally owning firearms and ammunition in a arrangement to be sanctioned by the court this month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Investigators established clear connections between the defendant and the Train couple through online posts.
This couple, along with Nathaniel Train, killed officers from Queensland Arnold and McCrow, and neighbor Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were killed in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a protracted siege at the regional property.
US prosecutors said the accused corresponded via social media with the perpetrators around the time of the deadly ambush.
Day described Queensland officers as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, informing the Trains he wanted to be at Wieambilla in person.
Court documents outlined how Gareth and Stacey Train had posted an apocalyptic recording 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 expressed.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Legal records reveal Day stockpiled a cache of nine high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammo at a country estate in Heber, Arizona, that was equipped with a gun range, weapons 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 admitted in the agreement submitted in the legal system.
Day stated he regularly accessed both the gun room and the firearms, and also trained individuals on how to use the guns correctly.
The bargain will result in dismissed counts that pertain to the accused issuing threats to public figures and federal agents.
Based on legal files, Day had been banned from possessing weapons and firearms because of his history of violent crimes.
Day, who has completed two years in custody, faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years imprisonment in prison or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement stipulates he will be judged under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.
