American Man Connected to Aussie Shooters Strikes Plea Deal with Federal Attorneys
An American citizen associated with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla, Australia shooting that took the lives of six individuals – including two Queensland police officers – has accepted a watered-down plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr will face 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 single offense of illegally owning guns and bullets in a deal to be sanctioned by the court this month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Investigators confirmed clear connections between the defendant and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, killed Queensland police officers Arnold and McCrow, and neighbor Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were killed in a final shootout with police, following a extended standoff at the regional property.
American officials stated Day corresponded via social media with the perpetrators around the time of the fatal attack.
Day described Queensland officers as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and declared they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling them he desired to be at Wieambilla in person.
Legal filings detailed how the couple had posted an apocalyptic video on YouTube after the shootings, saying police “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons, you’re a coward … We will meet you at home, Don. With love,” the Trains expressed.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Court documents reveal the defendant accumulated a cache of multiple powerful guns and numerous bullets of ammunition at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted with a gun range, weapons room and sniper’s nest.
“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 plea deal submitted in court.
He stated he frequently used both the weapons storage and the firearms, and also trained individuals on how to operate the guns properly.
The bargain will lead to dismissed counts that pertain to the alleged making of threats to public figures and FBI agents.
According to legal files, the individual had been banned from owning weapons and firearms because of his history of violent crimes.
Day, who has completed 24 months in custody, faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison or a penalty of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be sentenced under the low end of the sentencing guidelines.