Accused CBD rampager tells police he was inspired by Bourke St killer
The man accused of a going on a terrifying rampage in Melbourne’s CBD told police he copied the “tactics” of Bourke St killer James Gargasoulas, a court has heard.
Police & Courts
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A man accused of a CBD car rampage that left pedestrians fearing for their lives told police he got his “tactics” from Bourke St killer James Gargasoulas, a court has heard.
Blayze Pemberton-Burden, 26, faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court where explosive details emerged of how he had boasted to arresting police that he was “proud of his actions”.
The former IT consultant claimed he chose Flinders St because it was “the most public arena”.
“He stated that he was making a declaration of war against the government,” prosecutor Jakeb Cheney told the court.
“The accused stated that he wanted to get his message out and that he got his tactics from Dimitrious Gargasoulas and the Bourke St incident (in January 2017). He does not believe he has done anything wrong,” he added.
The accused was arrested at the corner of Flinders and William streets at 1.50pm on Wednesday in a dramatic police operation involving the heavily armed Critical Incident Response Team.
Senior Constable Cheney said the accused had moments earlier stood on the roof of his car at the corner of Flinders and Swanston streets — the same intersection where Gargasoulas started his 2017 rampage with doughnuts — and shouted “No one can stop me”.
He then got back in his car, performed burnouts then ran a red light while pedestrians were crossing.
“Witnesses who observed the accused’s driving stated they feared for their life,” he said.
The court heard the accused had made concerning recent posts on his Twitter account, including “I don’t come for peace, I come for war” and “I’ll break every rule in the book”.
Other posts included “I’ll make Tiananmen Square look like child’s play” and “I’ll make the Holocaust look like a walk in the park”.
Mr Pemberton-Burden represented himself to apply for bail, often yelling out to interrupt the court, sparking warnings by the magistrate.
At one point, when the prosecutor said bail was opposed, Mr Pemberton-Burden shouted: “Bail’s accepted, motherf---er!”
He has been charged with five offences including reckless conduct endangering life and dangerous driving.
Magistrate Andrew McKenna refused bail, saying if released he was too great a risk to the community.
The court heard he had no prior criminal history but that he had shown deteriorating mental health since he was suspended from his IT consultancy job in November.
He had sent a barrage of emails to former colleagues saying he was the Messiah and above the law, the court was told.
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A day before his CBD arrest, the court heard police had to remove him from his former workplace, where he was banned from visiting.
He told attending officers to “shoot me in the head”.
He was taken to a hospital for mental assessment but later released.
Mr Pemberton-Burden was remanded to return to court on February 14.