A serial prankster and alleged vandal behind the notorious Pam the Bird graffiti has been charged following a lengthy stand-off with police atop a major city bridge.
Jack Gibson-Burrell was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly scaling and spray-painting Melbourne's Bolte Bridge with a giant cartoon bird, sparking an hours-long police stand-off and traffic chaos.
Almost nine hours after the stand-off began, Gibson-Burrell surrendered peacefully and was taken into custody just before midday.
Police charged Gibson-Burrell on Tuesday evening with 13 offences including burglary, criminal damage, conduct endangering life and conduct endangering serious injury.
He was also charged with graffiti-related offences, contravening conditions of bail and committing an indictable offence whilst on bail.
The 22-year-old Yarraville man has previously faced court charged with hundreds of similar offences including vandalism of public structures.
In May, Gibson-Burrell was banned under his bail conditions from going out at night and possessing graffiti or abseiling equipment.
The conditions included payment of a $30,000 surety to the court, which may be forfeited if he breaches them.
Police said in a statement on Tuesday evening they would seek an after-hours court session to have Gibson-Burrell remanded in custody.
The latest alleged stunt had caused "considerable cost to the public", police said.
Police had been negotiating with Gibson-Burrell since they were called to the bridge at 2am over reports someone had scaled one of the 140-metre-high pillars.
Just after 11am, Gibson-Burrell, dressed head to toe in black, climbed down the pillar and calmly surrendered to police on the embankment at the bottom of the bridge.
Hours earlier, he had climbed up the pillar, before abseiling down and painting a Pam the Bird tag, which has been graffitied across Melbourne for years, often on hard-to-reach places and heritage-listed buildings.
Exactly how he got to the top of the bridge is unknown, but some reports have suggested an entry door at the lower level was open and a black bag was covering a nearby CCTV camera.
A recently created Instagram page, @pambirdofficial, shared video stories appearing to be from Gibson-Burrell at the top of the pillar, with the hashtag #notcomingdown.
In one video, a caption says: "Lower the taxes and drone me some f***en food! Let's go boys and girls!"
Gibson-Burrell did not specify which taxes he meant but also demanded a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk.
The account now has more than 26,000 followers.
At one point during the stand-off, Gibson-Burrell abseiled down the pillar and taunted police and media below with a wave before returning to the top.
After his arrest, Acting Inspector Darren Wallis said a 22-year-old Yarraville man had been taken into custody for questioning.
"It drew a lot of police resources to respond, including specialist resources," Insp Wallis told AAP.
"It was protracted, and the allegation is that the offender has caused significant damage to the Eastern Tower of the Bolte Bridge, which is going to be a considerable cost to the public."
Insp Wallis thanked the public for staying away from the area while police negotiated a peaceful and safe outcome.
Police would not confirm the identity of the man in custody.
Gibson-Burrell has previously been charged with 209 offences over the Pam the Bird graffiti, including reckless conduct endangering life or serious injury, criminal damage, theft and aggravated burglary.
He is accused of causing about $700,000 in damages, including to heritage-listed Victorian landmarks where he allegedly sprayed the tag.
This includes allegations he trespassed into Melbourne's Flinders Street Station in July 2024 and abseiled up its famous clock tower to paint the bird on it.
Gibson-Burrell was granted bail in May ahead of a future trial in the County Court.