American Man Connected to Australian Gunmen Strikes Plea Deal with Federal Attorneys
A US man associated with the culprits behind the fatal Wieambilla, Australia attack that took six lives – including two officers from Queensland – has accepted a less severe plea agreement.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will face court on October 21 after striking the bargain with US prosecutors.
The convicted felon, known online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is expected to admit guilt to a sole charge of illegally owning guns and bullets in a deal to be approved by the judiciary in the current month.
Connections to Aussie Gunmen
Investigators confirmed clear connections between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
This couple, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, killed officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel 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 extended standoff at the regional property.
US prosecutors stated Day communicated via social media with the perpetrators around the time of the fatal attack.
Day described Queensland police as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, informing the Trains he wanted to be at Wieambilla in person.
Court documents outlined how the couple had posted an end-times video 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 said.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Legal records reveal the defendant accumulated a cache of nine high-powered firearms and numerous bullets of ammunition at a rural property in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted 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 plea deal filed in the legal system.
Day stated he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the weapons, and also trained individuals on how to use the firearms properly.
The plea deal will lead to charges dropped that relate to the alleged making of threats to public figures and FBI agents.
Based on legal files, the individual had been banned from possessing weapons and firearms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has served 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 sentenced under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.
