A chunk of concrete crashed through the window of Jonuzi's Pizza in Denton, Texas, the latest and most violent chapter in what the shop's owners describe as weeks of escalating harassment from a group of teenagers hanging around their south Denton strip mall. The pizzeria, located along Teasley Lane, now has plywood covering its shattered storefront glass while police investigate.
The incident was caught on camera and reported by NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, which detailed how the same group had already been ordering food, cursing at staff, and asking customers of nearby businesses for money before the situation turned violent. Dean Romans, co-owner of Jonuzi's Pizza, said he simply wants his staff and customers to be safe, and had previously told the teens they could hang out at the shop but needed to stop asking others for money.
According to the station's report, the group had ordered cheese sticks and a drink from the restaurant, then later threw wads of napkins inside and hurled a burger at the restaurant's delivery driver. Romans said he asked the teens how their conflict with the shop had escalated to the point of vandalism, but the group denied asking others for money, even as a nearby local business confirmed the teens had demanded free food from its customers as well.
Threats to Return With Guns
Beyond the broken window, the teen group allegedly threatened to return with their associates and shoot the pizza shop, per the same NBC 5 account. Under Texas Penal Code § 22.07, threatening to place people in fear of imminent serious bodily injury is classified as a Terroristic Threat, which can be charged as a Class B misdemeanor or enhanced to a felony depending on the circumstances, according to Saputo Toufexis.
The property damage itself carries its own legal exposure. Intentional damage to a commercial storefront window is prosecuted in Texas as criminal mischief under Penal Code § 28.03, with penalties ranging from a Class B misdemeanor for losses between $100 and $750 up to a Class A misdemeanor or felony if damages exceed $2,500, according to FindLaw. The report notes that window installation customers have already provided quotes to replace the shattered glass at Jonuzi's.
Juvenile Suspects, Limited Options
Denton police have identified the juvenile suspects, who are under 16 years old and too young to hold a driver's license, the outlet reported. Jonuzi's Pizza called the police non-emergency line, filed a report, and says it plans to press charges, with the case now assigned to a detective; the investigation remains ongoing, and the suspects remain outside police custody.
Because the suspects are under 16, they fall under the jurisdiction of Texas's juvenile court system rather than adult criminal court. Title 3 of the Texas Family Code emphasizes rehabilitation and restitution for suspects aged 10 through 16, according to The Maddox Law Firm, since the state's adult criminal jurisdiction begins at age 17. That leaves the business owners with a separate path to recoup their losses: Texas Family Code § 41.001 holds parents or legal guardians civilly liable for property damage caused by the willful and malicious conduct of children between 10 and 18, according to the Law Offices of Thomas R. Cox III.
A Pattern Along Teasley Lane
Jonuzi's owners say the teens destroyed their peace and property over several weeks, and the shop has posted images of the incident on Facebook, which the owners say drew increased business afterward, per the NBC 5 report. Teasley Lane, also known as FM 2181, is a major commercial corridor in southern Denton lined with retail strip centers and apartment complexes that draw heavy student foot traffic in the after-school hours, connecting Interstate 35E to surrounding neighborhoods, according to Aditya Associates.
The harassment at Jonuzi's does not appear to be an isolated case. Local reporting by WE NEWS found that nearby small businesses along Teasley Lane have experienced similar persistent harassment from lingering groups of youths demanding free food and soliciting money from patrons, with merchant owners voicing growing concern for staff and customer safety.
Denton ISD did not respond to NBC 5's request for information about the incident. Emergency and non-emergency dispatch across the region, including for the seven independent school district police forces, is coordinated through the Denton County Communications Division, which processed more than 174,000 non-emergency calls in fiscal year 2023-2024, according to Denton County.
Crime Trends and What Comes Next
Mid-2026 statistics from the Denton Police Department indicate that overall property and violent crime in the city has declined compared to prior years, though property crime remains the largest category of reported offenses, the department said via Facebook. Still, incidents like the one at Jonuzi's show how a single strip mall can face outsized disruption even as citywide numbers trend downward.
For now, the investigation into the concrete attack and threats against Jonuzi's Pizza continues, with the suspects' identities known to police but no charges yet confirmed. Whether the case moves through juvenile court, prompts a civil claim against the teens' parents, or spurs any new coordination between Denton police and Denton ISD along the Teasley Lane corridor remains to be seen.
