US Man Linked to Aussie Shooters Secures Plea Bargain with Federal Attorneys
A US man linked with the culprits behind the deadly Wieambilla, Australia shooting that took the lives of six individuals – among them two officers from Queensland – has agreed to a less severe plea deal.
Resident of Arizona Donald Day Jr. will appear in court on 21 October after striking the plea deal with US prosecutors.
The individual with prior convictions, referred to online as “Geronimo's Bones”, is expected to admit guilt to a sole offense of unlawfully possessing guns and bullets in a deal to be approved by the court this month.
Connections to Aussie Gunmen
Authorities confirmed direct links between Day and the Train couple through digital communications.
This couple, 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.
They were killed in a gun battle with police, following a extended standoff at the regional property.
US prosecutors stated Day communicated via online platforms with the perpetrators around the time of the deadly ambush.
Day referred to Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and declared they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling them he desired to be at Wieambilla physically.
Court documents detailed how the couple had uploaded an end-times recording on the video platform after the shootings, saying authorities “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,” the Trains expressed.
Firearms Cache and Legal Proceedings
Legal records reveal the defendant stockpiled a cache of nine high-powered firearms and numerous bullets of ammo at a country estate in Heber, Arizona, that was equipped with a gun 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',” Day said in the plea deal filed in the legal system.
He stated he frequently used both the gun room and the firearms, and also trained others on how to operate the firearms properly.
The plea deal will result in charges dropped that pertain to the accused making of threats to public figures and federal agents.
Based on legal files, Day had been banned from possessing guns and arms because of his history of violent crimes.
The defendant, who has completed 24 months in custody, faces a highest sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment in jail or a penalty of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be sentenced under the minimum range of the sentencing guidelines.