Four arrested in Bibb County kidnapping, interference with custody case
Four people are in custody in connection with a child custody interference and kidnapping case that involved a two-year-old girl being taken from Georgia to New Jersey, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office announced on Tuesday.
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Four people are in custody in connection with a child custody interference and kidnapping case that involved a two-year-old girl being taken from Georgia to New Jersey, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office announced on Tuesday.
According to a news release, deputies were alerted to the case just before midnight on January 28 when a call came into the Macon-Bibb Emergency-911 Center. The child’s mother reported that her daughter had been taken from a temporary residence in Macon and transported out of state without her consent or the approval of the Georgia Division of Family & Children Services (DFACS). She told deputies that the child’s father, 30-year-old Dashawn Rashard Sarratt, had informed her of the child’s location.
According to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, the toddler had initially been placed in the care of a family member of Sarratt as part of an open DFACS investigation. As part of an agreement, 24-year-old Samiyah Cunningham of Macon was temporarily caring for the child before a planned move to another location. However, deputies say Sarratt, along with Cunningham, 49-year-old Shinikka Cunningham of New Jersey and 50-year-old Kiesha Burno of New Jersey, conspired to have the child transported by train to New Jersey to live with Burno. Once there, deputies say Burno obtained a fraudulent temporary custodial order through the Hudson County Superior Court in New Jersey.
New Jersey Child Protection Services later informed Macon-Bibb DFACS that the child was in Burno’s custody. Investigators obtained arrest warrants for all four suspects. With the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force and the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, all of them were taken into custody, and the child was safely recovered.
Samiyah Cunningham and Dashawn Sarratt were arrested on February 11, and Shinikka Cunningham and Kiesha Burno were arrested on February 26, 2025.
Cunningham, Shinikka Cunningham and Burno are charged with conspiracy to commit a felony, interstate interference with custody, and kidnapping. Sarratt faces charges of kidnapping, conspiracy to commit a felony, interstate interference with custody and probation violation.
All four were denied bond.
