A shirtless man was arrested Friday night after he allegedly broke into Denton City Hall and destroyed the city manager’s office.
Police responded to City Hall just after 10 p.m. Friday when a city employee reported that a shirtless man kicked a glass entry door several times and got inside, then went into the city manager’s office suite and began causing a loud disturbance, according to a Denton Police Department news release. Officers arrived and saw items being thrown into the hallway and they could hear crashing and banging noises. They didn’t know if the man was armed, so they kept their distance and called for him to come out.
Instead, the man barricaded himself in the offices and refused to come out. Search K-9s from the Little Elm and Hickory Creek police departments arrived an hour later and helped locate the suspect in the building, and police took him into custody without further incident.
After the suspect was in custody, officers assessed damages to the CMO suite and described it as “total destruction.” There was urine and fecal matter in the office, broken electronics, shattered glass, an overturned and destroyed desk, damaged walls, shattered sentimental personal items and more. Physical damages are estimated around $10,000 in losses, according to Denton PD.
The suspect, 48-year-old David Lopez, was arrested on suspicion of criminal trespass and criminal mischief. Lopez had also been charged with criminal trespass at City Hall in October 2020.