American Man Connected to Aussie Gunmen Strikes Plea Deal with Prosecutors
A US man associated with the culprits behind the fatal Wieambilla, Australia shooting that took six lives – including two Queensland police officers – has agreed to a watered-down plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on October 21 after striking the bargain with American authorities.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to admit guilt to a sole offense of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a arrangement to be approved by the judiciary this month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Authorities established direct links between the defendant and the Train couple through online posts.
This couple, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered Queensland police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbor Alan Dare at a isolated location in Wieambilla in 2022.
They were fatally shot 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 Trains during the period of the fatal attack.
Day referred to Queensland officers as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and declared they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, informing the Trains he desired to be at the scene in person.
Legal filings detailed how the couple had uploaded an end-times recording on the video platform after the incident, 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.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Court documents reveal the defendant stockpiled a collection of nine high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a country estate in Heber, Arizona, that was equipped with a gun 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’,” he admitted in the plea deal filed in the legal system.
Day stated he frequently used both the gun room and the firearms, and also trained individuals on how to use the firearms properly.
The bargain will lead to dismissed counts that relate to the accused making of threats to officials and federal agents.
Based on legal files, the individual 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 highest sentence of up to 15 years in prison or a fine of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be sentenced under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.
