If you or someone you know have information about possible crimes committed by Negasi Zuberi, please call 1-800-Call-FBI.
An Oregon man has been indicted by the Department of Justice after they allege he posed as an undercover cop, kidnapped a Seattle woman and locked her up in a makeshift cell as well as sexually abused her, according to the FBI.
Negasi Zuberi, 29, who went by other alias including Sakima, Justin Hyche, and Justin Kouassi, was indicted on charges of interstate kidnapping and transporting a woman with intent to engage in sexual activity, the Department of Justice said.
He was arrested in Nevada on July 16 and is expected to be returned to Oregon, where he’ll face prosecution, the Department of Justice said.
The Department of Justice says that on July 15, 2023, Zuberi was in Seattle when the FBI alleges he posed as a police officer, pointed a taser at a woman, placed her in handcuffs, and forced her into the backseat of his vehicle.
Zuberi then allegedly transported the woman approximately 450 miles back to his home in Klamath Falls, stopping along the way to sexually assault her and cover her face with a sweatshirt, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
The criminal complaint alleges that when Zuberi arrived at his home, he moved the woman from his vehicle into a makeshift cell he had constructed in his garage and she repeatedly banged on the cell door until it broke open and she escaped.
She retrieved a handgun from Zuberi’s vehicle, fled his garage, and flagged down a passing motorist who called 911, the complaint said.
“Her will to survive may have actually saved many other women,” Stephanie Shark, assistant special agent in charge of Oregon’s FBI, told Oregon Live.
The following day, Zuberi was spotted by two Nevada State Patrol officers in a retail parking lot in Reno, Nevada, and after a short standoff, Zuberi surrendered to law enforcement and was taken into custody, according to the Department of Justice.
Zuberi made his first appearance in federal court before a U.S. magistrate judge in the District of Nevada on July 26, 2023, and was ordered detained pending his extradition to the District of Oregon.
It is unknown of Zuberi entered a plea or obtained legal representation.
Inside Edition Digital has reached out to the Department of Justice’s office for the District of Oregon for comment and additional information and has not heard back.
Interstate kidnapping is punishable by up to life in federal prison and transporting an individual across state lines with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison.
Zuberi has reportedly lived in 10 states over the last 10 years, and FBI investigators said they suspect there could be other sexual assault victims.
In addition to Oregon, he has lived in California, Washington, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama and Nevada since August 2016, according to Department of Justice.
Investigators said they haven’t found any connection between Zuberi and a series of women found dead this year in and around Portland, Oregon Live reported.
A Portland man has been identified as a person of interest in those suspicious deaths but currently faces no charges. Police haven’t said how the women died, Oregon Live reported.
“Some cases alarm even the most seasoned investigators,” Agent Shark told Oregon Live, adding that Zuberi’s case is “that kind of case.”
If you or someone you know have information about possible crimes committed by Zuberi, please visit fbi.gov/sakimavictims or call 1-800-Call-FBI.
