American Man Linked to Australian Gunmen Strikes Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
A US man linked with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla, Australia shooting that took the lives of six individuals – including two Queensland police officers – has agreed to a watered-down plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will face court on October 21 after striking the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to plead guilty to a sole charge of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a deal to be approved by the judiciary this month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Investigators established clear connections between Day and Gareth and Stacey Train through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, killed officers from Queensland Arnold and McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla 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 online platforms with the Trains around the time of the deadly ambush.
He referred to Queensland officers as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, informing them he wanted to be at Wieambilla physically.
Legal filings detailed how the couple had uploaded an end-times recording on the video platform after the shootings, stating police “attempted to kill us, and we retaliated”.
“Failing to stand against these evil forces makes one a coward … we’ll see you at home, Don. Love you,” they expressed.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Legal records show the defendant accumulated a collection of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammo at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was equipped with a shooting range, gun 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’,” he admitted in the plea deal submitted in court.
Day said he regularly accessed both the gun room and the firearms, and also instructed others on how to use the firearms correctly.
The plea deal will result in charges dropped that relate to the accused issuing threats to officials and FBI agents.
According to legal files, Day had been banned from possessing weapons and firearms because of his violent criminal history.
Day, who has completed two years in custody, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in jail or a penalty of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement specifies he will be sentenced under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.
