Child Held at Gunpoint by Store Clerk Nets $2.8M Default Judgment
The 2016 incident in which an 11-year-old boy was held at gunpoint spurred protests in front of the Big Brother Grocery in Atlanta's West End.
December 06, 2019 at 05:15 PM
3 minute read
A Fulton County judge awarded more than $2.8 million to a mother and her son, who was 11 years old when he was held at gunpoint by a clerk at a West End grocery store.
Reports of the incident spurred several protests at the Big Brother Grocery Store on Lee Street, which reopened under new ownership a few months after it the incident. The default judgment, entered after a bench trial in November, apportioned 75% of the fault to the store's owner, 20% to his now-defunct LLC and 5% to the clerk.
Judge Fred Eady's Nov. 14 order including $1 million in punitive damages.
In a release announcing the judgment, the child's attorney, Mawuli Davis, said the boy "went to the convenience store to buy snacks and was treated like a criminal. He continues to suffer from PTSD as a result of this terrifying experience. This award sends a message that all children should be treated with respect and dignity."
The mother, Deangela Curate, is represented by Davis, Robert Bozeman and Roodgine Bray of Davis Bozeman Law.
In a brief interview, Davis said he is currently engaged in pursuing the judgment.
As detailed in court filings, the case began in July 2016 when the boy, identified as "DC," went to the store at about 1:25 a.m. with his 16-year-old sister and two adult family friends to buy snacks for his brother's birthday party.
Clerk Abishek Dubey, behind a bullet-proof glass enclosure, used a remote switch to lock the door while the young people were in the store. Dubey then used a gun kept behind the counter to hold the boy at gunpoint for a few minutes before opening the door and letting him and his sister leave. They walked back home and told Curate, who went to the store and called the police.
Dubey told officers he suspected the child of shoplifting, but there was no indication the child took anything when Atlanta police officers reviewed the store's surveillance video.
Dubey was arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to charges including false imprisonment, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony, and was sentenced to two years of probation.
Curate filed suit in Fulton County State Court naming as defendants Dubey; the store's owner and manager, Paltu Roy; corporate owner Sri Krishna LLC; and its landlord, P&E Glass.
The claims included negligence per se, negligent training and supervision, false arrest, negligent provision of a handgun, negligent misidentification, false imprisonment, aggravated assault and failure to keep premises safe.
Roy and Sri Krishna—which was administratively dissolved by the secretary of state in December 2016—retained counsel and answered the complaint, but that lawyer withdrew the following year.
P&E, which filed its own failure to indemnify counterclaim against Roy, was later voluntarily dismissed.
There is no indication that Dubey ever entered a response, although he did submit to a deposition in which he claimed the gun Roy provided was broken.
The Daily Report was unable to find any contact information for Roy, who apparently does not own any other businesses in Georgia.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllHungry for Stability After Execs Exit, Papa John's Gives Legal Chief Big Retention Bonus
4 minute readWalmart Ordered to Pay $1.2M by State Jury for Employee-Caused Injury in Georgia Store
Trending Stories
- 1We the People?
- 2New York-Based Skadden Team Joins White & Case Group in Mexico City for Citigroup Demerger
- 3No Two Wildfires Alike: Lawyers Take Different Legal Strategies in California
- 4Poop-Themed Dog Toy OK as Parody, but Still Tarnished Jack Daniel’s Brand, Court Says
- 5Meet the New President of NY's Association of Trial Court Jurists
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250