School pickup confrontation ends in shooting and crash

DENVER — An ongoing dispute between two women culminated in a confrontation during school pickups, a fatal shooting and a crash involving children in the Green Valley Ranch neighborhood on Wednesday, according to an arrest affidavit.

Ashley Stone, 38, and David Bland, 39, are sitting inside Denver’s jail on first-degree murder charges after investigators said they drove up to a car occupied by a mother, her two children and a man and began firing shots into their vehicle.

According to the Denver Police affidavit, Stone and the other mother had “several altercations” over the past year because Stone believed the mother was still in a relationship with Bland. At one point, last August, the mother told police she and Stone “had to be separated” by school staff.

The mother told police that between two school pickups, Stone threw a bottle at her vehicle and then brandished a gun. The mother said she and the man who was driving their vehicle lost sight of Stone’s vehicle and then picked up her daughter at Pitt Waller K-8 School.

After leaving Pitt Waller, the mother told police, “she observed Ms. Stone and Mr. Bland both shooting into her vehicle.”

The male driver was shot. The mother said she noticed blood. The driver lost consciousness, leading to the crash around 3:45 p.m. at East 38th Avenue and North Odessa Street, according to police.

The man will be identified by the Denver Medical Examiner’s Office.

A 5-year-old was ejected from the vehicle during the crash, according to affidavit. Another child and the mother were injured and taken to a hospital. 

Court records indicate police have recovered dash cam footage from the crashed vehicle that captured the shooting that led to the crash.

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