Dieu Doumdje
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A DeKalb County judge has sentenced Dieu Doumdje to 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a string of crimes across three separate cases.
What we know:
Doumdje’s convictions include the high-profile kidnapping of a toddler, an armed robbery of students, and assisting in a jailbreak. For his actions across all three files, Doumdje pleaded guilty to theft by taking, kidnapping, reckless conduct, armed robbery, and aiding or permitting another to escape lawful custody.
2021 kidnapping
The backstory:
The first case stems from the November 2021 kidnapping of 1-year-old Blaise Barnett. The child was asleep in his parents' Ford Explorer as they unloaded groceries at their Montreal Road apartment when Doumdje stole the vehicle. While police found the SUV abandoned near the Clarkston city limits shortly after, the toddler was missing.
After a massive search, a neighbor discovered the boy the following morning inside a car in her driveway. Investigators eventually identified Doumdje through a fingerprint found inside the stolen Explorer.
Armed robbery of students
The backstory:
The second case involved the armed robbery of two Clarkston High School students on Sept. 17, 2024. While the students were in an outdoor class, a classmate led them to a nearby apartment complex under the guise that someone needed help. Once there, Doumdje emerged from behind a dumpster and pointed a handgun at the students. He robbed them of their phones and cash, ordering them to return to campus without looking back or he would shoot.
DeKalb County Jail escape
The backstory:
The final charges involve Doumdje’s role in helping three inmates escape the DeKalb County Jail in December 2025. While Doumdje himself was in custody, he used a blanket to block detention officers' views, allowing three fellow inmates to break out of the facility.
Final sentence
What's next:
The first 15 years of the sentence will be served in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Source: Information in this article comes from a combination of past FOX 5 reporting and a release sent by the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office.