American Man Connected to Australian Shooters Strikes Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
A US man linked with the culprits behind the deadly Wieambilla attack that claimed the lives of six individuals – among them two officers from Queensland – has agreed to a watered-down plea agreement.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr. will face court on 21 October after finalizing the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is expected to plead guilty to a sole charge of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a arrangement to be approved by the judiciary this month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Investigators established direct links 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 isolated location in Wieambilla, Queensland in 2022.
They were fatally shot in a gun battle with police, following a extended standoff at the rural site.
US prosecutors stated Day corresponded via online platforms with the perpetrators around the time of the fatal attack.
Day referred to Queensland officers as “evil, corrupt, and wicked”, and declared they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling the Trains he desired to be at the scene in person.
Court documents outlined how Gareth and Stacey Train had uploaded an end-times video on YouTube after the shootings, stating authorities “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,” the Trains expressed.
Weapons Stockpile and Legal Proceedings
Legal records reveal the defendant accumulated a cache of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammo at a country estate in Heber, Arizona, that was outfitted with a shooting range, weapons room and sniper hide.
“The guns and ammo were stored in the trailer I occupied with S.S., within a space we named the 'gun room',” he said in the agreement filed in court.
He said he frequently used both the weapons storage and the weapons, and also trained individuals on how to use the guns properly.
The bargain will result in dismissed counts that relate to the alleged making of threats to officials and federal agents.
According to legal files, the individual had been prohibited from owning weapons and firearms because of his violent criminal history.
The defendant, who has served two years in detention, could receive a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in prison or a penalty of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal stipulates he will be sentenced under the low end of the sentencing guidelines.
