Decatur man, 21, sentenced to 30 years after pleading guilty in multiple cases including kidnapping

DECATUR, GA—DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces convictions by guilty pleas in three cases against a Decatur man, including one that involved the theft of an SUV with a one-year-old child in the backseat. 

On Wednesday, Jan.28, Dieu Doumdje, 21, pleaded guilty to charges of Theft by Taking, Kidnapping and Reckless Conduct in connection with the incident on Nov. 10, 2021.

According to the investigation, officers with the Clarkston Police Department responded just after  a.m. to a report of a child kidnapped outside an apartment complex on Montreal Road.  The baby’s parents told officers he was sleeping in his car seat in the backseat of their Ford Explorer while they unloaded groceries.  When they returned outside to get more out of the vehicle, the SUV and their son were gone.

Law enforcement recovered the stolen vehicle abandoned on Memorial Drive about nine hours later, but neither the child nor his car seat was inside it.  The baby was found safe the next day after a woman discovered him inside her minivan parked in her driveway on Rogers Street in Clarkston. 

In addition to the charges related to the kidnapping case, Doumdje also pleaded guilty to two counts of Armed Robbery, two counts of Aggravated Assault, two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon tied to the robbery of two Clarkston High School students. 

On Sept. 17, 2024, the two students were attending outdoor classes on campus when a classmate approached them and told them that someone nearby needed their help. The two students followed their classmate to an apartment complex bordering the school campus. When they arrived, Doumdje, who had been hiding behind a nearby dumpster, pointed a handgun at the students and took their phones and money. Doumdje then told the students to return to school and not look back or he would shoot. 

In the third case, Doumdje pleaded guilty to Aiding or Permitting Another to Escape Lawful Custody or Confinement for his role in helping three inmates escape from the DeKalb County Jail in December 2025.  According to that investigation, Doumdje, who was in custody at the jail, held up a blanket to obscure the detention officers’ view so three fellow inmates could break out of the facility. 

DeKalb County Superior Court Chief Judge Shondeana Morris, who presided over the hearing, accepted Doumdje’s guilty pleas and sentenced him to 30 years to serve 15 in confinement.  Because of the charges against him, Doumdje will not be eligible for early parole and must serve the entire 15 years in custody. 

The case, assigned to the Trial Division, was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Max Friedman, with assistance from District Attorney Investigator Trevor Pearson, and Victim Advocate Breanna Sawyer.  Clarkston Police Department Lt. G. Trumble led the initial investigation into the kidnapping.  DeKalb County Police Detective T. Meason led the initial robbery investigation.