A man in Oregon has been found guilty by a federal jury for the kidnapping and sexual assault of two women, one of whom he confined in a makeshift cell located in his garage, while his wife and child were present in the house.
Negasi Zuberi, 30, has been convicted of kidnapping, transporting a victim for criminal sexual activity, and illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon on Friday.
Officials report that the accused has used multiple names, such as “Sakima,” “Justin Hyche,” and “Justin Kouassi,” and has resided in a minimum of 10 states in the past decade.
A woman from Washington State guided investigators to her previous cell located in a house in Klamath Falls, close to the Oregon-California border, which led to the defendant’s subsequent arrest. Although she might be the most recent alleged victim, officials suspect she is far from the first.
On July 15, 2023, the woman reported to law enforcement that Zuberi approached her with the pretense of seeking sexual services in Seattle. Once she was isolated, the woman’s impending captor impersonated an undercover police officer, brandishing a Taser-like device while handcuffing her and securing her with leg irons. The woman recounted that Zuberi placed her in the back of his car and drove approximately 450 miles to a cell built in the garage in Klamath Falls, where he assaulted her during the journey.
A woman described the makeshift cell, noting it had a metal door that could only be opened from the outside, as stated in a federal criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime. Zuberi reportedly departed, informing the woman that he had to attend to “paperwork,” according to the document.
Authorities observed blood on the wooden fence at Zuberi’s residence, which the woman claimed she scaled to flee, according to the report. Authorities conducted interviews with neighbors and Zuberi’s wife, reviewed multiple records to confirm their identification, and obtained a search warrant for the interior of the residence.
Officers discovered a makeshift cell and a notebook detailing a troubling plan, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, law enforcement utilized GPS to locate the defendant in a Walmart parking lot in Reno, Nevada. After a tense standoff where he reportedly injured himself and began to bleed heavily, Zuberi ultimately gave himself up to the authorities.
Authorities report that Zuberi has resided in several states, including California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama, and Nevada, since August 2016. Numerous women are thought to have been sexually assaulted by him over a period of about eight years, from 2016 to 2023, often focusing on sex workers and roommates.
The indictment outlined Zuberi’s desire to compel multiple women to bear his children in order to “raise an Army.”
Zuberi is set to receive a life sentence at an upcoming court date.