The Negasi Zuberi case, explained: What we know about the cinder block cell kidnapping ahead of trial
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – It’s been more than a year since the FBI first revealed details of a shocking kidnapping case involving a man named Negasi Zuberi, who is accused of trapping a woman in a cinder block cell in southern Oregon before fleeing the state.
Zuberi’s trial is set to begin Monday at the Oregon U.S. District Court Eugene, according to federal court records.
Over the course of the trial, federal prosecutors will claim the 29-year-old had kidnapped the woman in Seattle, sexually assaulted her, and drove her across state lines to hold her in a makeshift prison in his Klamath Falls home in July 2023.
Here’s what we know about the case so far:
Who is Negasi Zuberi?
Court documents and personal accounts from ex-roommates and neighbors show that Zuberi has been known to use the aliases Sakima, Justin Hyche and Justin Kouassi.
According to the FBI, Zuberi has lived in 10 states over the past decade, including Washington; Oregon; Colorado; Utah; Florida; New York; New Jersey; Alabama; and Nevada.
Under these aliases, Zuberi has been linked to at least four sexual assaults in four of those states. Authorities believe there could be additional victims.
What happened in July 2023?
Court documents state that on July 15, 2023, Zuberi traveled from his southern Oregon home to Seattle, where he approached a woman around midnight near Aurora Avenue and solicited her for prostitution.
Officials said Zuberi claimed to be a police officer and showed the victim a badge saying he needed to take her into custody, pointing a taser at the victim before putting her in handcuffs and leg irons and forcing her into the back of his car.
He then drove 450 miles to Klamath Falls, Ore., where he stopped at a gas station and put a backward sweatshirt on the woman to cover her face before driving to his home at 1336 North El Dorado Ave, according to the court documents.
The woman later reported that once they arrived at the house, he put her into a makeshift cell in the garage that he had made out of cinderblocks with a metal door that could not be opened from the inside.
Authorities said the woman was locked in the cell for a few hours, but when Zuberi left, she escaped by punching and banging on the door several times to break the welds.
Once outside the cell, the woman fled the house and flagged down someone who called 911, according to court documents.
The next day, Zuberi was arrested in Reno, Nevada in a Walmart parking lot while holding one of his children in the front seat of his car and talking to his wife, according to law enforcement.
What else do we know?
Zuberi is also accused of kidnapping a separate victim two months earlier on May 6, though details of this case remain limited. An indictment filed in September 2023 stated he “did unlawfully and willfully seize, confine, decoy, kidnap, abduct, and carry away and hold” another person.
Since then, more information has been revealed about Zuberi and what prosecutors claim to be his motives — including plans to capture multiple women to raise an “army” under his control.
In September 2024, prosecutors accused Zuberi of plotting an “Operation Take Over” in which he “sketched out plans for an underground structure” and targetable women, listing characteristics of an “ideal victim” who had few personal connections.
Investigators say Zuberi would scout for potential victims in parking lots and take “surreptitious photos” of the women and their license plates to track their cars as recently as July 2023.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue to follow this story.