Sam Amico
A southern Oregon man posed as an undercover police officer to lure and kidnap a woman in Seattle, then take her to his Klamath Falls home, where he locked her in a cinderblock cell in his basement, FBI officials said.
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Negasi Zuberi, 29, was arrested for interstate kidnapping after the woman managed to escape. Federal agents said they fear there may be more victims.
The FBI offered some troubling details of the alleged kidnapping at a press conference.
Also, according to the criminal complaint, Zuberi chained and sexually assaulted the woman while she was in the cell. Eventually, she was able to beat the door, bloodying her hands, until she was able to break free.
“Her quick thinking and will to survive may have saved other women from a similar nightmare,” Assistant Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Shark said in a statement, via KGW8. “We are fortunate that this brave woman escaped and alerted authorities.
“Through quick law enforcement action we were able to get Zuberi in custody the next day. While she may have helped protect future victims, sadly we have now linked Zuberi to additional violent sexual assaults in at least four states and there could be more.”
Zuberi traveled to Seattle on July 15 and solicited the services of a sex worker, posing as an undercover cop to kidnap her, federal agents said. Zuberi pointed a taser at the alleged victim and handcuffed her in the backseat of his car, she told police. He then drove nearly 450 miles, sexually assaulting her, on the way back to his home in southern Oregon, the woman added.
Once they got to Zuberi’s home, the woman said she was placed in a cell made of cinderblocks in his garage. She added that once Zuberi left, she was able to break open the metal door and escape, before flagging down a motorist near his home. That individual then called 9-1-1.
Zuberi fled to Reno, Nevada, where police eventually found and arrested him after what was described as a “brief standoff,” the federal agents said.
The FBI added that Zuberi has lived in 10 different states in 10 years and the investigation has extended to Oregon, Washington, Colorado, California, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama and Nevada for more possible victims.
Per KGW8: “Zuberi has also been known as Sakima, Justin Hyche and Justin Kouassi, the FBI said, and other victims may know him by the Sakima name. He may have used multiple methods to gain control of different victims, the FBI said, such as by drugging their drinks or impersonating a police officer.”
