By Erin Pearson
The man police say is behind the “Pam the Bird” graffiti wants to be released on bail to work at a Geelong painting company and live with his grandmother, a former security guard, who has vowed to keep him in line.
Jack Gibson-Burrell, 21, of Yarraville, faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court again on Tuesday in his second attempt at being released on bail since his arrest in January.
Images of Pam the Bird graffiti around Melbourne.Credit: The Age
Police allege the 21-year-old is one of Australia’s most prolific graffiti artists and the sole person behind the tags, which have appeared across Melbourne and Geelong.
He allegedly graffitied property and buildings, including Metro trams, the Novotel South Wharf hotel, the Channel Nine building in Docklands, the “cheese stick” column on CityLink and Flinders Street Station during the past year.
The court heard a new charge of intentionally cause injury was also laid this week after Gibson-Burrell allegedly stabbed a man with a kitchen knife last year amid what police allege is an escalation of his offending.
In opposing bail, Senior Constable Scott Nicholls said police deemed the 21-year-old to be a serious offender who would “wreak havoc on Victorian streets” if released.
Pam the Bird on Wurundjeri Way.Credit: Joe Armao
Much of the alleged offending, he said, occurred while Gibson-Burrell was already on bail from about September 2023.
“I believe the seriousness [of his offending] is escalating,” Nicholls told the court.
“There are a plethora of victims in this matter. If I could queue them all up in a line at the front of this court, I think it would be a significant sight to see.”
Police began investigating Gibson-Burrell over the Pam the Bird graffiti in 2023 with covert surveillance operatives used to track his movements. This included fixed cameras which Nicholls said captured people coming and going from the 21-year-old’s Yarraville home for months.
Jack Gibson-Burrell in court.Credit: Paul Tyquin
In one incident, Nicholls said undercover police observed Gibson-Burrell leave his home on January 20, get into a stolen car and drive towards the Novotel South Wharf.
“Then internal Novotel CCTV marries up perfectly with what police operatives viewed him to be wearing. Police operatives follow him all the way back home after that,” Nicholls told the court.
“We’ve got a plethora of evidence tying him to conduct endangering life charges, committing graffiti, overhanging freeways.
“I believe when you take all the facts ... and put them together, you end up with the individual who is at a very high risk of causing high damage or severe assault or high-value theft in the Victorian community.
“We’ve had police operatives see him committing the offences.”
Police arrest the 21-year-oldCredit: Victoria Police
Defence barrister Peter Matthews, SC, said his client had two jobs lined up if he were released, including a Wendouree-based clothing label and a Geelong painting company.
Matthews said his client’s 78-year-old grandmother, Joan Bell, was also willing to have her grandson live with her in East Geelong. Friend Finlay Dale, who practises calisthenics with the accused in parks each week, offered a $30,000 surety.
Matthews also raised questions over whether the case would be ready to proceed later this year, with police still waiting on some evidence.
Pam the Bird graffiti on the side of the shot tower in Clifton Hill on Friday.Credit: Chris Hopkins
Giving evidence on the stand, Bell said she was a former security guard and hostel worker who had a lot of experience with young people.
She said she was close to her grandson and already looked after the cat of her other grandson Leroy which meant she was unable to leave home for more than a night.
Bell said she was aware of the police case against her grandson but did not believe “everything that’s in the media”.
“It’s my house, my rules. Years ago I worked in a backpackers, and I have a reputation of being very firm but fair. I did a lot of security work as well at, say, folk festivals,” she said.
Pam the Bird graffiti on The Age and Nine offices in Docklands.Credit: Goodbirdart/Instagram
In February, Gibson-Burrell was denied bail after a court heard he’d been charged with a raft of offences including an unprovoked attack on an Emporium store worker and aggravated burglary on the Surf Coast.
At the time, Magistrate Johanna Metcalf found his behaviour was a risk to public safety.
Police were also investigating the 21-year-old from Yarraville for further alleged offences, including the stabbing of a man.
Metcalf also found there was a risk Gibson-Burrell – unqualified and untrained to abseil – would continue graffitiing and breaking into prominent buildings to boost his social media profile.
She also expressed concern about Gibson-Burrell’s documented propensity to commit violence if disturbed while graffitiing, after a transport worker was sprayed in the face in Queensland, leaving him partially blinded.
“There is an element of deliberate risk-taking for thrill and notoriety,” the magistrate said earlier this month.
“In my view, if all the matters were proven … a term of imprisonment would be on the cards.”
He is facing more than 50 charges including criminal damage, aggravated burglary and car theft with an estimated damage bill of more than $200,000.
During his earlier bail application, police said they were working with the government to get the FBI to carry out a search warrant of Instagram to try to link Gibson-Burrell to the account, where images and videos of the cartoon bird were posted to more than 70,000 followers.
Those inquiries are pending.
A decision on bail is expected to be handed down on Thursday.
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