By Erin Pearson
A man police say is responsible for the prominent “Pam the Bird” graffiti in Melbourne and Geelong says he should be bailed to live with his grandmother in Geelong, as police seek the help of the FBI to unmask the person behind the tag’s Instagram account.
Accused serial graffiti artist Jack Gibson-Burrell, 21, faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, the second time in a week, after being charged last Thursday with more than 50 offences including criminal damage, assault and aggravated burglary.
Matthew Raoul White (left) and Jack Gibson-Burrell in court.Credit: Paul Tyquin
In opposing bail, police alleged that offending by Gibson-Burrell had escalated recently and included an allegation (over which he has not been charged) that he stabbed a man repeatedly, and accusations he entered homes to steal cars while residents slept nearby.
Detective Sergeant Jason Wombwell told the court that police allege the Yarraville man, who slept with a hunting knife next to his bed, is the only person responsible for the distinctive cartoon bird graffiti, which has appeared on freeway signs and large buildings including the Novotel hotel in South Wharf in the past year.
“They are hard-to-get-to locations. It’s not on the side of the fish and chip shop; it’s the side of the Novotel,” Wombwell said.
“We’ve got incidents where a person has climbed up the “Cheese Stick” [column on CityLink], which overhangs four lanes of active traffic. Breaking into several buildings, abseiling down buildings.”
Wombell said detectives had also recently been in touch with the government to submit an overseas request to allow the FBI to execute a search warrant against the owner of Instagram in an attempt to link Gibson-Burrell to an account where Pam the Bird images are frequently posted.
The court heard alleged co-offender Matthew Raoul White, 39, of Abbotsford, was charged with 17 offences, and was linked to the same investigation in late 2024 after Channel Nine’s Docklands headquarters was targeted. Most of his charges, the court heard, related to allegations he spray-painted graffiti on stationary trains.
Police allege the pair were at scenes together three times: to spray graffiti on the Nine headquarters (also home to The Age), an attempt on a residential complex in La Trobe Street, and trespassing inside the Flinders Street Station clocktower.
Senior Constable Michael McCarthy told the court White’s life “revolved around graffiti” and he had become one of the county’s best-connected subculture members, with murals traced to the US, France, Germany and Spain.
In 2018, a video circulated of White allegedly jumping off a train and into the Swan River in Fremantle. The court heard following the incident in Western Australia, police commenced an investigation into White that tracked his movements to the United States.
McCarthy told the court White was jailed in San Francisco for 120 days in 2019 after pleading guilty to offences there. McCarthy said White was arrested by the US Department of Homeland Security at an airport as he tried to board a plane back to Australia.
White was allegedly captured on CCTV from an IGA near his home, coming and going at times when police say graffiti incidents occurred.
“The accused continues to play cat and mouse with authorities,” McCarthy said. “It’s only a matter of time until the accused and co-accused assault a member of the public to avoid apprehension.”
McCarthy said police were applying to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority for a warrant after a drone and other items, including a fake beard, were seized from White’s Abbotsford home.
Both men maintain their innocence and plan to contest the charges.
In arguing for bail, Gibson-Burrell’s legal team said their client was young, with a limited criminal history and facing a complex, circumstantial case.
Both defence teams argued that if remanded in custody, the men would be likely to face more time on remand than any jail term they might get if found guilty.
Gibson-Burrell wants to be bailed to live with his grandmother and gain work as a traffic controller, while White sought to eventually move to Ferny Creek.
On the Flinders Street Station clock tower.Credit: Victoria Police
Barrister Jonathan Barreiro, representing White, said the suggestions police could match some of the graffiti using a handwriting expert to prove they were committed by White was “complete nonsense”.
“It’s absolutely concocted, pseudoscience. Really what we’re talking about are large pieces of graffiti that would be easy to replicate,” Barreiro said.
He said Pam the Bird had become a sensation in Melbourne and the possibility of copycat offending was manifest.
“It’s complicated and circumstantial.
“In relation to each incident, the prosecution has to prove beyond reasonable doubt the relevant street art in question was not committed by one of the hundreds of thousands of Pam aficionados in this city.
“We’re a long way from any finding of guilt.”
The case will return to court on Wednesday.
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