A US man linked with the culprits behind the deadly Wieambilla attack that took six lives – including two officers from Queensland – has accepted a watered-down plea deal.
Arizona-based Donald Day Jr will appear in 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 plead guilty to a single offense of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition in a deal to be approved by the judiciary this month.
Connections to Aussie Gunmen
Authorities established direct links between Day and the Train couple through digital communications.
The Trains, along with Nathaniel Train, killed Queensland police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare at a remote property in Wieambilla in 2022.
They were fatally shot in a final shootout with police, following a protracted siege at the regional property.
US prosecutors said the accused communicated via online platforms with the perpetrators during the period of the fatal attack.
Day referred to Queensland police as “malignant, malformed and malevolent”, and declared they should be shown “no mercy whatsoever”, telling them he wanted to be at Wieambilla physically.
Court documents detailed how Gareth and Stacey Train had uploaded an end-times video on the video platform after the incident, 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,” they said.
Weapons Stockpile and Court Case
Legal records reveal Day stockpiled a collection of multiple powerful guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition 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',” Day admitted in the agreement filed in the legal system.
He stated he regularly accessed both the gun room and the firearms, and also instructed individuals on how to use the guns correctly.
The bargain will result in charges dropped that pertain to the accused making of threats to public figures and federal agents.
According to court documents, the individual had been prohibited from owning weapons and firearms because of his violent criminal history.
The defendant, who has completed 24 months in detention, could receive a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in jail or a penalty of US$250,000 (A$381,500), but the plea deal specifies he will be judged under the low end of the legal sentencing standards.
