American Individual Linked to Australian Shooters Strikes Plea Deal with Prosecutors
An American citizen associated with the perpetrators behind the deadly Wieambilla shooting that took six lives – including two officers from Queensland – has agreed to a watered-down plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr. will face court on 21 October after finalizing the bargain with US prosecutors.
The convicted felon, referred to online as “Geronimo’s Bones”, is anticipated to admit guilt to a sole offense of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a deal to be sanctioned by the judiciary this month.
Links to Australian Shooters
Investigators established direct links between Day and the Train couple through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, murdered officers from Queensland Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbor Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla in 2022.
They were fatally shot in a final shootout with law enforcement, following a protracted siege at the rural site.
US prosecutors stated Day corresponded via online platforms with the perpetrators during the period of the fatal attack.
Day described Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and declared they should be shown “absolutely no quarter”, informing them he desired to be at the scene in person.
Legal filings detailed how the couple had uploaded an end-times video on the video platform after the shootings, stating authorities “came to kill us and we killed them”.
“If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons, you’re a coward … we’ll see you at home, Don. Love you,” they expressed.
Weapons Stockpile and Legal Proceedings
Legal records show Day accumulated a collection of nine high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a rural property in Heber, AZ, that was outfitted with a shooting range, gun 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 plea deal submitted in court.
He 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 result in charges dropped that relate to the alleged making of threats to officials and FBI agents.
According to court documents, Day had been prohibited from owning guns and arms because of his violent criminal history.
Day, who has served 24 months in detention, faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison or a fine of $250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be sentenced under the low end of the sentencing guidelines.
