Afrigather A federal jury present in Oregon on Friday discovered Negasi Zuberi, 30, responsible of kidnapping and sexually assaulting two girls and trying to flee from jail in 2023. Picture by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Oct. 22 (UPI) — An Oregon man was convicted Friday for the 2023 kidnapping of a intercourse employee in Seattle and transporting her 450 miles to a house in Klamath Falls, Ore.
A jury within the U.S. District Courtroom of Oregon discovered Negasi Zuberi responsible of two counts of kidnapping, two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, two counts of being a felon in possession of ammunition, and one depend of transportation for felony sexual exercise.
The fees arose from separate kidnappings and sexual assaults in 2023 adopted by Zuberi’s tried escape from jail in August 2023.
Zuberi, 30, kidnapped the sufferer in Seattle on July 15, 2023, when he posed as an undercoverpolice officer, threatened her with a Taser and handcuffed her earlier than puttingher in his automobile’s backseat.
Zuberi drove her to his rented dwelling in Klamath Falls and positioned her in a cinderblock cell that he erected within the storage and tried to make soundproof.
The sufferer stated Zuberi raped her in the course of the drive from Seattle to Klamath Falls, which is positioned in southeastern Oregon about 50 miles south of Crater Lake Nationwide Park.
The kidnapping sufferer stated she knew she’d be killed if she stayed there and repeatedly punched a safety display screen till it gave method and he or she compelled her method by a small opening in an exterior door to flee after being locked within the makeshift cell for a number of hours.
After fleeing, she ran down the street till a great Samaritan helped her full her escape and name 911.
Native and state police used cellphone monitoring to find Zuberi in Reno, Nev., and arrested him after a 45-minute standoff in a Walmart car parking zone on July 16, 2023.
Whereas investigating the case, federal brokers realized Zuberi kidnapped and raped one other lady about six weeks earlier and took her to the identical rented dwelling in Klamath Falls.
That lady instructed investigators she noticed cinderblocks stacked contained in the storage, which Zuberi used to assemble the cell by which he positioned the second sufferer in July.
A federal grand jury on Aug. 2, 2023, indicted Zuberi on costs of kidnapping and transporting a sufferer with intent to have interaction in felony sexual exercise.
A second kidnapping cost plus costs for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and the tried escape from jail had been added on Feb. 15.
Zuberi faces life in jail for every kidnapping depend plus as much as 10 years for firearm and ammunition possession by a felon. He additionally faces as much as 15 years in jail for the tried escape from jail.
The FBI’s Portland area workplace, Klamath Falls Police Division, Klamath County District Lawyer’s Workplace and the Oregon State Police investigated the case with help from the Nevada U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace.
The Nevada State Police, Reno Police Division and Washoe County District Lawyer’s Workplace in Nevada additionally assisted.
A sentencing listening to will decide Zuberi’s jail sentence.
FBI Portland Area Workplace Assistant Particular Agent in Cost Stephanie Shark in August 2023 stated there may be proof Zuberi, who has used a number of aliases, dedicated at the least 4 different violent sexual assaults in 4 different states and may need carried out extra.
Shark stated Zuberi may need dedicated related crimes in California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama and Nevada.
Zuberi additionally appeared on the Decide Judy tv present in 2018 utilizing the identify Justin Hyche and prevailed in a case towards a former girlfriend that concerned broken clothes.
