Iowa man sentenced to 30 additional years for kidnapping 8-month-old baby

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - An Iowa man was sentenced to 30 additional years in prison Wednesday after being found guilty of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling and aggravated kidnapping.

The sentence is to run consecutively to time being served for a 1999 conviction for armed robbery and first-degree robbery.

Marcel N. Dugar, 40, entered a home through a kitchen window without authorization in 2020, said Bethany Bryant of the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office. Upon entry, Dugar forcibly took an 8-month-old child out of the arms of the child’s grandmother and left the home, Bryant said.

Deputies with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office located Dugar at another residence and transported him to the sheriff’s office for further investigation. The child was returned home uninjured, Bryant said.

Dugar was sentenced to 6 years for unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling and 30 years for aggravated kidnapping. His sentences are to run concurrently with the first five years to be served without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. Upon release, Dugar will be required to register as a sex offender, Bryant said.

Assistant District Attorneys Bobby Holmes and Kadence Haskett prosecuted the case for the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office.