A 41-year-old man is in custody following an attack at a Denver strip club Sunday that left one man dead and three other people with injuries.
Just before 1 p.m., Denver police were called to investigate a reported assault at PT’s Showclub Denver located at 1601 W. Evans Ave.
Officers arrived to find a man, later identified as Ryan Ashland, standing in the strip club parking lot armed with a baseball bat, according to a probable cause statement released Monday by the Denver Police Department.
Ashland was standing near a “seriously injured victim” who was lying on the ground and in need of medical attention, the statement says. Despite multiple commands to comply with his arrest, police said Ashland refused to listen to officers.
“Due to the suspect being armed with a weapon, his close proximity to the injured victim, and his refusal to comply with police officers, the suspect was subsequently taken into custody by the use of a Taser,” the release says.
According to the probable cause statement, the suspect struck one female victim in the head, causing her to fall to the ground. She pretended to be unconscious until the suspect stopped hitting her and she “heard his footsteps move away,” the statement reads.
Another victim, who was able to run to safety after being struck in the head with a baseball bat by the suspect, watched the suspect being taken into custody and returned to speak with officers and seek medical attention, according to the statement.
All four victims were taken to Denver Health Medical Center to be treated for blunt force injuries from the attack. One of the victims, who has only been identified as an adult man, later died from his injuries, the affidavit says. Another victim, a woman, remains hospitalized with critical injuries. Two other victims have been treated and released from the hospital, police said.
Ashland was arrested and is being held for investigation of first-degree murder – a Class 1 felony. He's due in Denver District Court on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.
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