2023-08-02 01:45:00
(CNN) — After a woman escaped from a makeshift “dungeon” made of cinder blocks at an Oregon man’s home, the FBI said it is looking for other possible victims in other states.
The man, identified as 29-year-old Negasi Zuberi, is in federal custody flagged for kidnapping in multiple states following a Seattle woman ran away from her home in Klamath Falls, Oregon, according to a FBI Portland Office press release. The woman also claimed that she was sexually assaulted, the agency said.
Zuberi, who has lived in at least 10 different states since 2016, has been linked to violent assaults in at least four states, according to the FBI. Investigators have reason to believe there might be other victims.
A grand jury in Oregon indicted Zuberi on one count of kidnapping and one count of transfer with intent to engage in sexual activity, court documents filed Wednesday show.
His defense attorney, Heather Fraley, told CNN she had no comment.
Negasi Zuberi, 29, is in custody for “interstate kidnapping” following a woman ran away from her home in Klamath Falls, Oregon, according to a news release from the FBI’s Portland Office. (Credit: Washoe State Prison)
On July 15, Zuberi traveled from his home in Klamath Falls to Seattle, where he posed as an undercover police officer to solicit the services of a prostitute, according to the FBI news release. The victim said Zuberi pointed a taser at her, handcuffed and shackled her legs and then put her in the back seat of her car, the agency said.
“Zuberi told the victim that he was under arrest,” said the Klamath Falls Police Department in a press release. “The victim reported that Zuberi had a firearm, police shields, a stun gun and other police equipment,” the statement added.
He then drove back to her home in Klamath Falls, more than 450 miles away, stopping along the way to sexually assault her, the victim told detectives, according to the news release.
At one point during the trip, the woman noticed a mapping app on the suspect’s cell phone that indicated they were 2 hours and four minutes from the set destination, according to an affidavit reviewed by CNN. The woman “knew at that moment that Zuberi was not a police officer and that she was being kidnapped,” the document says.
Arriving at the house, he placed the woman in “a makeshift cell he had built in his garage,” which was made of cinder blocks and had a metal door that locked from the outside, and left her there. the FBI said.
The woman told authorities that she repeatedly banged on the door until she was able to get out of the cell, according to the news release.
“The victim said she knew Zuberi was going to kill her if she stayed there,” police said. “The victim began to bang on the security screen door. The victim was able to break the welds on the screen door and pull down the metal material of the screen. She then climbed through a small opening in the door and escaped.”
The woman flagged down an area driver, who called 911, according to the FBI. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where detectives responded to a report of a rape victim, according to Klamath Falls police.
Police later identified “blood on the wooden fence” that the woman had climbed during her escape, the affidavit says.
Detectives tracked Zuberi down using cell phone technology a few hours later in Reno, Nevada, where he was taken into custody following a confrontation, police said.
“Due to the real possibility that this was not the first crime of this nature committed by Zuberi, the FBI was called,” police added.
Authorities obtained a search warrant on July 16 and located the makeshift lockup and other items, including the victim’s purse, in Zuberi’s garage, according to the affidavit.
Suspect Targeted Sex Workers And Their Roommates As Victims, FBI Says
“We are fortunate that this brave woman escaped and alerted authorities,” Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Shark said in the statement. “While she may have helped protect future victims, unfortunately we have now linked Zuberi to several violent attacks in at least four states and we believe there may be many more.”
The FBI said it believes Zuberi attacked sex workers or their roommates in California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama and Nevada between August 2016 and July 2023.
Zuberi, who also goes by the names Sakima, Justin Hyche and Justin Kouassi, is believed to have various methods of “gaining control of his victims”, including putting drugs in their drinks, posing as a police officer and soliciting the services of female workers. before “violently sexually assaulting” them, according to the FBI.
“Some of the encounters may have been recorded to make it appear that the assault was consensual,” the FBI said. “Victims are threatened with reprisals if they notify the Police.”
The FBI is asking for the public’s help as it searches for more possible victims and additional information on Zuberi.
CNN’s Andy Rose contributed to this report.
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