Man on Police Watchlist Accused of Abducting and Imprisoning Woman in Concrete Cell

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A man facing accusations of abducting a woman and confining her in a cinder block cell, from which she courageously punched her way to freedom, was already on the watchlist of the law enforcement agencies and is currently suspected of committing other sexual assaults.

According to the FBI, the woman was kidnapped in Seattle, shackled, and transported to a house in Klamath Falls, Oregon. The suspect, Negasi Zuberi, aged 29, is presently detained in Nevada, awaiting extradition to Oregon, where he is facing federal charges of interstate kidnapping and transporting an individual across state borders with the intention to conduct illicit sexual activities.

Investigators discovered the victim’s purse and handwritten notes during a search of Zuberi’s rented property. One note, labelled “Operation Take Over,” contained instructions such as “Leave phone at home” and “Make sure they don’t have a bunch of people in their life. You don’t want any type of investigation.”

Another hand-written document seemed to outline plans for an underground structure made of concrete blocks, foam insulation, and waterproof concrete.

The FBI claims that Zuberi might have employed additional methods to gain control over women, like spiking their drinks, and they suspect him of committing sexual assaults in at least four other unnamed states. The agency has established a website for potential victims to report any incidents involving Zuberi.

Prior to relocating to Klamath Falls, a city of approximately 22,000 residents, Zuberi resided in Vancouver, Washington. Court records reveal that his landlord had attempted to evict him. According to the landlord, Abishek Kandar, Zuberi not only defaulted on rent for six months but also illegally sublet the property, bred puppies, damaged the house, and threatened neighbors.

Court records show that Zuberi, allegedly operating under the alias Justin Kouassi, was accused of assault in Denver the previous year, but Denver police have no arrest record for anyone under that name or any of Zuberi’s other aliases.

In the Seattle abduction case, the FBI reports that Zuberi impersonated an undercover police officer. The woman he kidnapped was “chained, sexually assaulted, and confined in a cinderblock cell,” according to Stephanie Shark, assistant special agent at the FBI’s Portland field office. The woman was eventually able to escape by relentlessly pounding on the door until her hands were bloodied. The agent credited the woman’s quick thinking and survival instinct for potentially saving other women from a similar fate.

Upon the woman’s escape, Zuberi fled but was apprehended by state police in Reno, Nevada, the following day.

Zuberi’s lawyer, Heather Fraley, declined to comment on the case. Zuberi is still in the process of being transferred from Nevada to Oregon, and thus, he has not yet been assigned a public defender in Oregon. If convicted of the federal charges in Oregon, Zuberi could be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Zuberi is reported to have used multiple aliases, including Sakima, Justin Hyche, and Justin Kouassi.

Based on a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Oregon, Zuberi lured the woman into prostitution in a Seattle area known for sex work. He subsequently posed as an undercover officer, displaying a badge and threatening her with a stun gun, before handcuffing and shackling her and confining her in the back of his vehicle.

He drove her to his residence, stopping en route to sexually assault her. Upon their arrival at his home, roughly seven hours after their initial encounter in Seattle, he placed her in a makeshift cinder block cell, indicating he was stepping out to complete paperwork.

Believing that her life was at risk if she didn’t escape, the woman managed to break some of the door’s welded joints and crawl through a small opening to escape. She got into Zuberi’s car, grabbed his gun, and fled, leaving a trail of blood on a wooden fence she climbed over.

A passing motorist assisted the victim, calling 911. The next day, Nevada State Patrol officers located Zuberi in a Walmart parking lot in Reno while he was in his car holding one of his children and talking to his wife, who was standing outside the vehicle. Zuberi ultimately surrendered.

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Johnson reported from Seattle. Contributions were also made by Claire Rush from Big Big News, located in Portland, Oregon, and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho. Rush is part of the Big Big News/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a non-profit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on underreported issues.

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• Interstate Kidnapping Charges
• Sexual Assault Information
• FBI Victim Services