Man posing as undercover cop kidnaps woman and locks her in cell in garage, FBI says
A man is accused of kidnapping a woman from Washington and sexually assaulting her while driving her to his Oregon home, where he locked her inside a homemade cell in his garage, according to FBI officials.
Negasi Zuberi, 29, is facing an interstate kidnapping charge, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court on July 17 and unsealed on Aug. 1.
Kidnapping
Zuberi met with a woman in Seattle “to engage in prostitution” shortly after midnight on July 15, the complaint says.
Afterwards, Zuberi lied to the woman saying he was an undercover police officer and that he needed to take her into custody, the complaint says.
Zuberi then threatened the woman with a stun gun, handcuffed her and put her in the back seat of his car, according to the complaint.
He told the woman he “was taking her to a substation” when she questioned “why the trip was taking so long,” according to the affidavit.
Upon seeing the map application on Zuberi’s cell phone list his destination as two hours and four minutes away, the woman knew he was not an officer and “that she was being kidnapped,” the complaint says.
Zuberi pulled over at one point during the 450-mile trip to sexually assault the woman, according to an Aug. 2 news release from FBI Portland.
Hours after kidnapping the woman from Seattle, the pair arrived at his Klamath Falls home, where Zuberi locked the woman in a “makeshift cell,” in his garage, the complaint says. The cell was made of cinder blocks with “a metal door installed in reverse so it could not be opened from the inside.”
Escape
Zuberi left, telling the woman he had paperwork to fill out, the complaint says.
The woman fell asleep but soon woke, realizing “she would likely die if she did not” try to escape, the complaint says.
“She beat the door with her hands until they were bloody in order to break free,” FBI agent Stephanie Shark said in the release.
With the cell door now broken open, the woman fled the home and flagged down a passing driver, who called 911, the complaint says.
After a trip to the hospital, the woman went with officers to identify the home where she’d been held captive, according to the complaint.
Klamath Falls police returned to the home the following day after getting a search warrant, the complaint says. Officers found the makeshift cell along with documentation that showed the home belonged to Zuberi.
Officers also found handwritten notes, the complaint says, one titled “Operation Take Over” with a short, bulleted list stating: “Leave phone at home; make sure they don’t have a bunch of ppl in their life. You dont want any type of investigation.”
Cellphone data confirmed the woman and Zuberi traveled from Seattle to Klamath Falls on July 15, the complaint says.
Arrest
The FBI said Zuberi had fled Oregon, but soon he was found in Nevada.
Nevada officers approached Zuberi in a Reno Walmart parking lot on July 16, the complaint says.
Zuberi, who was with his wife and child, refused to leave his car, the complaint says. He then cut himself “with a sharp object” and tried to destroy his phone.
After the brief standoff, Zuberi ultimately agreed to leave his car and was arrested, the complaint says.
Additional victims sought
“We are fortunate that this brave woman escaped and alerted authorities,” Shark said. “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.”
In the past decade, the FBI said Zuberi has lived in 10 states, including California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama and Nevada.
Zuberi, who has also gone by the names Sakima, Justin Hyche and Justin Kouassi, took control of his victims using a number of methods, including “drugging their drinks and impersonating a police officer,” the FBI said.
Anyone with information about Zuberi is asked to contact the FBI through 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
This story was originally published August 2, 2023 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Man posing as undercover cop kidnaps woman and locks her in cell in garage, FBI says."
