Kidnapped woman escaped cinder block cell in man’s garage, feds say. He’s convicted
A woman abducted by an Oregon man kept banging on the metal door of a cinder block cell he trapped her in until it burst open — allowing her to escape his home, court documents say.
She was the second woman Negasi Zuberi, of Klamath Falls, had kidnapped and sexually assaulted in 2023, according to federal prosecutors.
Zuberi, 30, who federal prosecutors said had constructed a cell inside his garage in Klamath Falls, has been found guilty of kidnapping, transporting a victim for criminal sexual activity, and illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon said in an Oct. 18 news release.
His attorneys didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ requests for comment Oct. 21.
The second kidnapping leads to federal investigation
The woman who broke free from Zuberi’s cinder block cell met him about 450 miles away in Seattle on July 15, 2023, according to a criminal complaint, McClatchy News previously reported.
Zuberi approached the woman and “solicited (her) to engage in prostitution,” then told her he was an undercover police officer and flashed a badge, an affidavit says.
Though he was lying, he acted as if he needed to detain her and pointed a taser at her, according to the affidavit, which says Zuberi then handcuffed her hands and legs and placed her in his car.
Zuberi drove into Oregon with the woman, who asked “why the trip was taking so long,” in the backseat of his vehicle, the affidavit says.
The woman realized he wasn’t a police officer — and that she had been abducted — when she glanced at Zuberi’s cellphone screen and noticed an application saying he was 2 hours and 4 minutes away from his destination, according to the affidavit.
During the drive, Zuberi stopped and sexually assaulted her, according to prosecutors.
At some point, Zuberi pulled over at a truck stop and covered the woman’s face with a sweatshirt, the affidavit says.
Then, he drove to his house, where he confined her and locked her inside a cell inside his garage, according to the affidavit.
“Zuberi claimed he had to leave to do paperwork” and the woman “briefly” fell asleep, the affidavit says.
Then she “awoke to the realization that she would likely die if she did not attempt to escape,” according to the affidavit.
The woman eventually broke the door open and grabbed a gun from Zuberi’s car that was parked inside the garage, the affidavit says.
She fled outside and flagged down a driver, who called authorities, according to the affidavit.
After the woman was taken to a hospital for a sexual assault examination, the affidavit says she returned to Zuberi’s home with law enforcement to identify his residence, the complaint says.
The next day, police executed a search warrant of his home and found the cinder block cell in his garage, according to the affidavit.
That afternoon, Zuberi was located in a Walmart parking lot in Reno, Nevada, with his family, the affidavit says.
He was inside his vehicle, holding his child, and “cut himself with a sharp object causing him to bleed profusely” and tried “to destroy his phone,” according to the affidavit.
Then Nevada State Patrol officers detained him, the affidavit says.
The first kidnapping
Federal agents learned that six weeks earlier, Zuberi abducted and sexually assaulted another woman in May 2023, according to prosecutors.
He also kept her at his home, where she saw “stacked cinder blocks in his garage,” prosecutors said.
On Oct. 16, this woman testified in court before the jury, saying Zuberi kidnapped her after she was celebrating Cinco de Mayo at a bar in Klamath Falls, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
She said Zuberi handcuffed her hands and legs, tased her, assaulted her and raped her before driving her to his home, according to the outlet.
The woman testified that Zuberi later let her go at an ATM, where he gave her $300 and warned her against reporting what happened, the outlet reported. The woman ultimately reported the kidnapping and sexual assault to police, but said that they were “reluctant” to investigate, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
At the courthouse on Oct. 17 , Zuberi’s mother and the mother of his children appeared in support of him, NewsWatch 12 reported.
His children’s mother and former girlfriend, who used to live with Zuberi in Klamath Falls, told reporters that the cinder block cell inside Zuberi’s garage was meant “for nothing bad,” according to the TV station.
She accused Zuberi’s victims of lying, the outlet reported.
Zuberi is facing up to life in prison on the kidnapping charge, up to 10 years in prison on the charge of transporting a victim for criminal activity, and up to 15 years in prison on the charge of illegally possessing firearms and ammunition, prosecutors said.
This story was originally published October 21, 2024 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Kidnapped woman escaped cinder block cell in man’s garage, feds say. He’s convicted."
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