US Individual Connected to Australian Gunmen Secures Plea Deal with Federal Attorneys
A US man linked with the perpetrators behind the fatal Wieambilla attack that took the lives of six individuals – including two Queensland police officers – has agreed to a less severe plea agreement.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr will face court on October 21 after striking the plea deal with American authorities.
The convicted felon, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to admit guilt to a sole charge of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a deal to be approved by the court this month.
Links to Aussie Gunmen
Authorities established direct links between the defendant 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 in 2022.
The Trains were fatally shot in a final shootout with police, following a extended standoff at the regional property.
American officials said Day corresponded via online platforms with the perpetrators during the period of the fatal attack.
He described Queensland officers as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, informing them he wanted to be at Wieambilla physically.
Legal filings outlined how the couple had uploaded an apocalyptic recording on the video platform after the shootings, stating police “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,” the Trains expressed.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Court documents show the defendant stockpiled a collection of nine high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a country estate in Heber, AZ, that was equipped 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 agreement submitted in court.
Day said he regularly accessed both the weapons storage and the firearms, and also trained individuals on how to operate the guns correctly.
The bargain will result in charges dropped 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 two years in custody, could receive a maximum penalty of up to 15 years imprisonment in jail or a penalty of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be judged under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.