A Decatur man has been sentenced to 30 years, with 15 years to be served in confinement, after pleading guilty in multiple criminal cases, including a theft that resulted in a one-year-old child being kidnapped. The sentence was handed down to 21-year-old Dieu Doumdje on Wednesday, January 28, by DeKalb County Superior Court Chief Judge Shondeana Morris, according to a report from the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office.
Doumdje pleaded guilty to charges of Theft by Taking, Kidnapping, and Reckless Conduct for an incident that occurred on November 10, 2021. The baby was in the backseat of their parents' Ford Explorer while they were unloading groceries outside an apartment complex on Montreal Road. The parents, having stepped away briefly, came back to find their vehicle and child gone. Found nine hours later on Memorial Drive, the stolen SUV was empty, neither child nor car seat in it. The child was discovered safe the following day in a minivan parked in a driveway on Rogers Street.
The charges Doumdje faced extended beyond the kidnapping. He also admitted to two counts each of Armed Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. These charges stem from a 2024 robbery incident involving two Clarkston High School students. Lured to an apartment complex next to their school under pretenses, they were confronted by Doumdje, who robbed them at gunpoint and threatened to shoot if they looked back after being told to return to school.
Additionally, Doumdje's rap sheet included a conviction for Aiding or Permitting Another to Escape Lawful Custody or Confinement related to a December 2025 jailbreak. During his own confinement at the DeKalb County Jail, he assisted three inmates in their escape by obstructing the view of the detention officers with a blanket. Because of the severity of the charges against him, Doumdje is ineligible for early parole and is required to serve the full 15 years in custody.
The cases were argued by Assistant District Attorney Max Friedman, with support from District Attorney Investigator Trevor Pearson and Victim Advocate Breanna Sawyer, per the district attorney's announcement. The Clarkston Police Department, with Lt. G. Trumble at the helm, conducted the initial kidnapping probe, while DeKalb County Police Detective T. Meason spearheaded the robbery investigation.
