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.