After Woman Escapes Cell, Authorities Say Man With NJ Ties May Have More Victims

NEW JERSEY — Officials said that a man accused of kidnapping a woman and taking her to another state may have targeted sex workers in New Jersey, during a seven-year period in which he committed violent sexual assaults.

Negasi Zuberi, 29, also known as "Sakima," "Justin Hyche" and "Justin Kouassi," was recently taken into federal custody and charged with interstate kidnapping in Oregon. The woman Zuberi was accused of kidnapping apparently escaped from the prison built in his Klamath Falls home, the FBI said in a Wednesday news release.

Authorities are looking for additional victims, after linking him to violent sexual assaults in at least four more states. Related article — Man Sexually Assaulted, Locked Woman In Cinder Block Cell: FBI

The FBI says Zuberi has been linked to additional violent sexual assaults in at least four states and the agency said there could be more.

The investigation has extended to multiple states where Zuberi has lived since August 2016, including California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama, and Nevada, according to the FBI.

Officials believe he "primarily targeted sex workers or roommates" between August 2016 and July 2023 in states including New Jersey, according to the FBI.

According to the FBI, Zuberi has lived in multiple states since 2016, possibly including California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama, and Nevada.

Zuberi "has several different methods to gain control of his victims, including drugging their drinks, pretending to be a police officer, and soliciting the services of sex workers and then violently sexually assaulting them," officials said. "Some of the encounters may have been filmed to make it appear as if the assault was consensual. The victims are threatened with retaliation if they notify the police."

The FBI has asked anyone who may be a victim or has information related to the investigation to fill out a short form.

Court records show that on July 15, Zuberi traveled from his home to Seattle, where he sought the services of a sex worker, posed as an undercover police officer, pointed a stun gun at the woman, placed her in handcuffs and leg irons, and put her in the back seat of his car, the FBI said.

He then traveled around 450 miles with the woman, sexually assaulting her during the trip, according to the FBI.

Once they arrived in Klamath Falls, the woman was locked in makeshift cinder block cell that Zuberi had made in his garage, the FBI said. The cell had a metal door installed in reverse so it could not open from the inside, but the woman was able to break it open and escape the room after Zuberi left, according to the FBI.

“This woman was kidnapped, chained, sexually assaulted, and locked in a cinderblock cell,” said Stephanie Shark, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Portland field office. “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.”

A grand jury in Portland on Wednesday returned an indictment charging Zuberi with interstate kidnapping and transporting an individual across state lines with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He could face up to life in prison if convicted.

After the woman escaped from his home in Klamath Falls on July 15, officials said Zuberi fled the southern Oregon city.

Two Nevada State Patrol officers tracked Zuberi down at a Walmart parking lot in Reno the next day, according to a criminal complaint. Records show Zuberi was in his car holding one of his children in the front seat while talking to his wife, who was standing outside the vehicle.

He initially refused to get out of the car when the officers asked and instead cut himself with a sharp object and tried to destroy his phone, according to the complaint. Zuberi eventually surrendered and that the child wasn’t harmed.

According to the complaint, investigators interviewed Zuberi’s wife and neighbors. Authorities declined to say if there was any indication that any of them had been aware of the Seattle woman’s abduction.

Investigators said that when they searched Zuberi’s home and garage, they found the makeshift cell, the woman’s purse and handwritten notes. One of the notes was titled “Operation Take Over,” and included a bullet list with entries that read “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 document appeared to include a rough sketch for an underground structure using concrete blocks, foam insulation and waterproof concrete.

This article contains reporting from Patch's Cailin Loesch, and from the Associated Press.