PORTLAND, Ore. — A person who posed as an undercover police officer kidnapped a girl in Seattle, drove her tons of of miles to his house in Oregon and locked her in a cinder block cell till she bloodied her arms breaking the door to flee, the FBI mentioned Wednesday.
Negasi Zuberi, 29, faces a federal interstate kidnapping cost, and authorities mentioned they’re searching for extra victims after linking him to violent sexual assaults in not less than 4 extra states.
“This woman was kidnapped, chained, sexually assaulted, and locked in a cinderblock cell,” Stephanie Shark, the assistant particular agent in command of the FBI’s Portland discipline workplace, mentioned in a information launch. “Police say she beat the door with her hands until they were bloody in order to break free. Her quick thinking and will to survive may have saved other women from a similar nightmare.”
After the girl escaped from his house in Klamath Falls, Zuberi fled the southern Oregon metropolis of roughly 22,000 folks however was arrested by state police in Reno, Nevada, the following afternoon, the FBI mentioned.
Court data don’t listing an legal professional who would possibly converse on Zuberi’s behalf. He hasn’t been assigned a public defender in Oregon but, as he’s nonetheless within the technique of being transferred from Nevada, which might take a number of weeks, mentioned Kevin Sonoff, a spokesman for the U.S. legal professional’s workplace in Oregon.
According to the FBI, Zuberi additionally glided by the names Sakima, Justin Hyche and Justin Kouassi, and he has lived in a number of states since 2016, probably together with California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama, and Nevada.
According to a felony grievance filed in U.S. District Court in Oregon, Zuberi solicited the girl, recognized solely as Adult Victim 1, within the early-morning hours of July 15 to have interaction in prostitution alongside Aurora Avenue in Seattle, an space identified for intercourse work. Afterward, Zuberi advised the girl he was an undercover officer, confirmed her a badge, pointed a stun gun at her, and positioned her in handcuffs and leg irons earlier than placing her behind his car, the grievance says.
He then drove the girl to his house in Oregon, stopping alongside the best way to sexually assault her, the grievance states. When they arrived, about seven hours after he first encountered her in Seattle, he put her in a makeshift cell he had in-built his storage — a cinder block cell with a door of steel bars — and mentioned he was leaving to do paperwork.
The girl “briefly slept and awoke to the realization that she would likely die if she did not attempt to escape,” the grievance says.
She began punching the steel door and broke a few of its welded joints, making a small opening which she climbed by means of, Klamath Police Capt. Rob Reynolds mentioned at a information convention.
“When she was trying to escape the cell itself, she repeatedly punched the door with her own hands,” Reynolds mentioned. “She had several lacerations along her knuckles.”
The sufferer noticed Zuberi’s car parked within the storage, opened it, grabbed his gun after which took off, leaving blood on a wood fence she climbed over to flee, the grievance says. She flagged down a passing driver, who referred to as 911.
Two Nevada State Patrol officers tracked Zuberi down at a Walmart car parking zone in Reno the following day, July 16, the grievance says. He was in his automotive holding one in every of his kids within the entrance seat whereas speaking to his spouse, who was standing outdoors the car. He initially refused to get out of the automotive when the officers requested and as a substitute minimize himself with a pointy object and tried to destroy his cellphone, in response to the grievance, which notes that Zuberi ultimately surrendered and that the kid wasn’t harmed.
According to the grievance, investigators interviewed Zuberi’s spouse and neighbors. Authorities declined to say if there was any indication that any of them had been conscious of the Seattle girl’s abduction.
Investigators mentioned that after they searched Zuberi’s house and storage, they discovered the makeshift cell, the girl’s purse and handwritten notes. One of the notes was titled “Operation Take Over,” and included a bullet listing with entries that learn “Leave phone at home” and “Make sure they don’t have a bunch of ppl (sic) in their life. You don’t want any type of investigation.”
Another handwritten doc appeared to incorporate a tough sketch for an underground construction utilizing concrete blocks, foam insulation and waterproof concrete.
The FBI mentioned Zuberi might have used different strategies of gaining management of girls, together with drugging their drinks. The company mentioned it was establishing a web site asking anybody who believes they might have been a sufferer to come back ahead.
The Klamath Falls rental house the place Zuberi allegedly took the girl is owned by the town’s mayor, Carol Westfall, and her husband, Kevin, in response to property data. The home backs onto a park and is on a residential road, lower than a quarter-mile (half a kilometer) from a freeway.
Court data present that after Zuberi’s arrest, the couple had him evicted.
“We are shocked and dismayed by what has occurred,” the Westfalls mentioned in an e mail. “We applaud the actions of the woman who helped capture this person and prevent him from committing further atrocities.”
The Westfalls additionally praised native, state and federal legislation enforcement for his or her work on the case. They declined to answer queries about their interactions with Zuberi.
• Johnson reported from Seattle. Andrew Selsky in Salem, Oregon, and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed.
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