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Man charged in Vancouver stranger assault, remains in custody

Click to play video: 'Bail hearing for stranger assaults suspect'
Bail hearing for stranger assaults suspect
A former VPD volunteer is now facing a sixth charge of assault in connection with a series of unprovoked attacks in Vancouver. And as Kristen Robinson reports, the crown is seeking to keep him in custody.

A former Vancouver Police Department volunteer is now facing a sixth charge of assault in connection with a series of unprovoked attacks in Vancouver.

Crown is applying to revoke bail for the suspect in a series of stranger assaults in Vancouver, including three that the 29-year-old allegedly committed while on probation for two previous attacks on women.

Dylan Brandon Gaita is accused of six counts of assault, including two causing bodily harm, between January 2025 and June of this year.

  • Assault – Jan. 21, 2025
  • Assault causing bodily harm – April 26, 2025
  • Assault – April 29, 2025
  • Assault causing bodily harm – Jan. 31, 2026
  • Assault – June 28, 2026
  • Assault – June 29, 2026

The Jan. 31 allegation occurred weeks after Gaita received probation for two separate attacks on women.

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Before he was charged criminally, Gaita passed a background check and volunteered with the VPD at a community policing centre in downtown Vancouver.

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“At the time of the alleged assaults that happened earlier in 2025, he wasn’t an active volunteer,” Const. Megan Lui confirmed.

In January of last year, a 44-year-old woman was walking in the 600 block of Granville Street when police say Gaita hip-checked her, knocking her to the ground.

Then in April, police say a 77-year-old woman was walking in the 800 block when Gaita elbowed her in the shoulder. She fell to the ground and suffered a fractured pelvis.

On Jan. 9, Gaita was sentenced to 18 months probation in both assaults.

In March, police released a mugshot of Gaita, warning he was the suspect in a series of stranger assaults against women in the downtown core.

Gaita was charged in four assaults and released on $1,500 bail.

He was ordered to abide by 11 conditions, including electronic monitoring and staying out of Downtown Vancouver, before he allegedly attacked two more people on Commercial Drive in June.

Surveillance shows a woman getting elbowed in the face on June 29.

A day earlier, Gaita is accused of shoulder-checking a man, unprovoked.

A publication ban prevents Global News from reporting on any evidence from the bail hearing, which will continue Thursday, with defence counsel expected to make submissions.

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