American Individual Connected to Australian Gunmen Secures Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
An American citizen associated with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla attack that claimed six lives – among them two Queensland police officers – has agreed to a less severe plea deal.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr will face court on October 21 after finalizing the bargain with American authorities.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to plead guilty to a single offense of illegally owning guns and bullets in a deal to be approved by the court this month.
Links to Aussie Gunmen
Investigators established clear connections between the defendant and Gareth and Stacey Train through online posts.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, murdered officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla in 2022.
The Trains were killed in a gun battle with police, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
American officials said the accused corresponded via online platforms with the perpetrators around the time of the fatal attack.
Day described Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and said they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, telling the Trains he desired to be at Wieambilla in person.
Legal filings outlined how Gareth and Stacey Train had uploaded an apocalyptic recording on the video platform after the incident, stating 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,” they expressed.
Firearms Cache and Court Case
Legal records show the defendant stockpiled a collection of multiple powerful guns and numerous bullets of ammo at a country estate in Heber, Arizona, that was equipped with a shooting range, gun 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',” he admitted in the agreement filed in the legal system.
He said he frequently used both the gun room and the firearms, and also trained others on how to operate the guns correctly.
The bargain will result in charges dropped that pertain to the accused making of threats to officials and federal agents.
According to legal files, the individual had been prohibited from possessing guns and arms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has served 24 months in custody, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in prison or a fine of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the agreement specifies he will be judged under the minimum range of the legal sentencing standards.
