Vancouver stranger assault suspect denied bail

The suspect in a string of elbow and shoulder-checking assaults against strangers in Vancouver has been denied bail.

Dylan Brandon Gaita, 29, was detained by B.C. provincial court Judge Deanne Gaffar on Tuesday.

A publication ban prevents us from reporting on the evidence and submissions at the bail hearing, and the reasons behind the judge’s decision to detain the accused.

Police warned the public about Gaita in March, when he was arrested and charged in connection with four assaults on women between January 2025 and January of this year

Gaita was released on bail and ordered to wear an ankle monitor before he allegedly attacked two more people on Commercial Drive in June.

On June 28, police said a man was walking on Commercial Drive at Charles Street when a suspect shoulder-checked him, causing him to lose his balance.

A day later, a woman was walking near East 1st Avenue and Commercial Drive when security footage captured a suspect walking in the opposite direction elbow her in the face.

Gaita is accused of four counts of assault and two counts of assault causing bodily harm.

Three of the alleged assaults occurred after Gaita was sentenced to 18 months’ probation in January for two previous attacks on women.

In January 2025, police said a 44-year-old woman was hip-checked by Gaita on Granville Street and knocked to the ground.

That April, police said Gaita elbowed a 77-year-old woman in the shoulder on Granville Street. She fell to the ground and suffered a fractured pelvis.

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

His next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 8, to set a date for the arraignment process.