American Individual Connected to Australian Gunmen Secures Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
A US man linked with the culprits behind the fatal Wieambilla, Australia attack that took the lives of six individuals – among them two Queensland police officers – has agreed to a watered-down plea agreement.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr will face court on 21 October after finalizing the plea deal with American authorities.
The individual with prior convictions, known online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a single offense of illegally owning guns and bullets in a deal to be sanctioned by the judiciary in the current month.
Connections to Australian Shooters
Authorities confirmed direct links between Day and the Train couple through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, murdered Queensland police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
The Trains were killed in a gun battle with police, following a extended standoff at the regional property.
American officials stated the accused communicated via social media with the perpetrators during the period of the fatal attack.
Day referred to Queensland officers as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling the Trains he wanted to be at Wieambilla physically.
Court documents detailed how the couple had posted an apocalyptic recording on the video platform after the shootings, stating authorities “came to kill us and we killed them”.
“If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons, you’re a coward … We will meet you at home, Don. With love,” they expressed.
Weapons Stockpile and Court Case
Legal records show Day accumulated a collection of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammo at a country estate in Heber, Arizona, that was outfitted with a shooting range, weapons room and sniper hide.
“The guns and ammo were stored in the trailer I occupied with S.S., within a space we named the 'gun room',” Day said in the agreement filed in the legal system.
Day stated he regularly accessed both the gun room and the firearms, and also trained others on how to operate the firearms properly.
The plea deal will result in charges dropped that relate to the alleged making of threats to public figures and federal agents.
According to court documents, Day had been banned from owning guns and arms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has served 24 months in detention, faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years imprisonment in jail or a fine of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement specifies he will be judged under the minimum range of the legal sentencing standards.
