Graffiti artist spray-painted station security guard
A BURLEIGH Waters teen sprayed a security guard in the face with paint after he was caught vandalising a train with a large bird – and he filmed it himself.
Jack Gibson-Burrell had spent months painting the large birds on trains that were parked at stations across southeast Queensland, including Gold Coast stations such as Varsity Lakes.
The 19-year-old squawked like a bird when asked about the graffiti. Gibson-Burrell’s downfall came on May 12 when he filmed himself on GoPro camera vandalising a train at Park Rd station.
Police found the footage on Gibson-Burrell’s go-pro when searching his Burleigh Waters home days later.
The footage played to the Southport Magistrates Court showed him painting the bird when he was interrupted by the security guard.
The teen turned and spraypainted the guard, who shielded his eyes and turned his back before fleeing. Gibson-Burrell kept painting.
The teen pleaded guilty on Friday to 26 charges, including graffiti, assault occasioning bodily harm and interfering with a railway.
Magistrate Janice Crawford placed him on two years’ probation, ordered he pay $5000 in restitution and complete 60 hours of graffiti removal.
“A 61-year-old man going about his work – that is just reprehensible behaviour,” Ms Crawford said.
“It is an assault on a man at work … completely unprovoked, completely unnecessary. You didn’t do it because you were scared of being caught, you did it because you wanted him to leave.”
The court was told the blue and orange bird, which stretched the entire height of the carriage, was Gibson-Burrell’s tag.
Defence lawyer Nicholas Andrews, of Sans Law, tendered a written apology from Gibson-Burrell to the court.
“He can’t provide any real reason why he assaulted him in this way,” Mr Andrews said. Gibson-Burrell was scared by the security guard, he said.
“It was a very poor decision,” he said.
Mr Andrews told the court that Gibson-Burrell, who is unemployed, had been “hanging around the wrong sort of people” while in Queensland and had plans to move to Victoria.
Outside of court, GibsonBurrell squawked like a bird when he was asked about his actions.
That was the only comment he made.