MEDFORD, Ore. — Negasi Zuberi, 30, also known as Justin Joshua Hyche, was found guilty by a federal jury in Klamath Falls, Oregon, of kidnapping, transporting a victim in connection with criminal sexual activity and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. criminal. This came after he kidnapped and sexually assaulted two women, holding one of them in a self-built cell in his garage.
On July 15, 2023, Zuberi was in Seattle posing as a police officer. He used a stun gun and handcuffs to keep his victims in the backseat of his vehicle. The victim was then transported 700 km from Seattle to Zuberi’s home in Klamath Falls. Zuberi stopped along the way to commit a sexual assault.
Zuberi moved the victim from the vehicle to a cell in the garage. Zuberi built the cell out of cinder blocks, and its door was struck repeatedly until the woman broke free. She fled and removed a gun from Zuberi’s vehicle, flagging down a passing driver who called 911.
The next day, July 16, 2023, Reno Police Department officers and Nevada State Patrol officers found Zuberi in a parking lot in Reno, New Jersey. After a brief scuffle, Zuberi surrendered to law enforcement and was arrested.
During the investigation, federal agents discovered that Zuberi had kidnapped and sexually assaulted her just six months earlier. It took place on May 6, 2023 in Seattle. While being detained, the victim noticed cinder blocks stacked in the garage, which were later to be used to build a makeshift cell.
A federal grand jury in Medford returned an indictment on August 2, 2023, charging Zuberi with kidnapping and transporting a victim with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He was charged with a second count of kidnapping, as well as charges of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition and attempted escape, with the indictment quashed on February 15, 2024.
