The man accused of abducting a woman, sexually assaulting her, and locking her up in a cinderblock cage in an Oregon garage has been on law enforcement’s radar before, with previous assault accusations and eviction proceedings.
Authorities announced this week that Negasi Zuberi, 29, was arrested and charged with interstate kidnapping after he allegedly posed as an undercover police officer and picked up the unnamed victim in Seattle, then drove her hundreds of miles away to Klamath Falls, Oregon, where he put her in a “makeshift” concrete cell. The woman beat her hands bloody and managed to escape later that day and flag down a passing driver who called 911.
Now, the FBI and other authorities are searching for more potential victims after linking Zuberi to sexual assaults in at least four other states, they said, adding he has lived in at least 10 states since 2016. Authorities have declined to reveal more information about the other cases Zuberi is linked to, but court records show a slew of previous complaints against him.
Woman filed for restraining order in California
A woman filed for a restraining order for domestic violence against Justin Kouassi, one of Zuberi’s aliases, in a California court in July 2020, court records show. He also has gone by the aliases Justin Joshua Hyche and Sakima Zuberi.
In the filing obtained by NBC News, the woman accused him of threatening to kill her and her two children and giving her bruises by “hitting,” “restraining” and “beating” her. She said he repeatedly made her children cry.
“He comes at night without my permission, broke my windows, trying to beat on me, treatening (sic) to kill me and my kids,” NBC reported she said in the filing. “He treat (sic) to take them away so I can be miserable without them.”
Court records weren’t clear whether the restraining order was granted. The woman did not respond to a message from USA TODAY seeking comment.
Attorneys listed in court records as representing Zuberi didn’t respond to requests for comment from USA TODAY.
Records show warrant for punching someone in Colorado
In Colorado, a man named Justin Kouassi was accused of punching a person in the face in Denver last year, according to court records.
An arrest warrant was issued for Kouassi, the records show, but Denver police do not have any record of Zuberi or anyone using his aliases being arrested. There is still an active warrant out for him.
Previous landlord in Washington: ‘He is a horrible person’
A previous landlord in Vancouver, Washington, tried to have him evicted last year, court records show.
Abishek Kandar, told the Associated Press that Zuberi didn’t pay rent for six months, illegally sublet the home, bred puppies, damaged the property, and threatened neighbors.
“He is a horrible person,” Kandar said. “He deserves to be in jail.”
Kandar did not return messages from USA TODAY left with an attorney.
The home where Zuberi allegedly imprisoned the woman in the cinderblock cell is owned by Klamath Falls Mayor Carol Westfall and her husband Kevin Westfall, according to court records. They had him evicted after his arrest last month.
The Westfalls told USA TODAY in a statement that they were “shocked and dismayed” and commended Zuberi’s victim for her escape and assistance in leading to his arrest.
Authorities had similar praise for the woman, who “fought for her life, beating the doors and the walls of this cell with bloodied hands,” Stephanie Shark, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Portland field office, said Wednesday.
“The victim’s focus, actions and her will to survive triggered a law enforcement response that may have actually saved many other women from a similar nightmare.”
Suspect used ruses, planned his assaults
Investigators believe Zuberi used a number of ruses to “gain control” of his victims, including posing as a law enforcement official, drugging their drinks or soliciting sex workers before “violently” sexually assaulting them, the FBI said.
“Some of the encounters may have been filmed to make it appear as if the assault was consensual,” the agency said.
While searching the house in Klamath Falls, a city of about 22,000 residents near the Oregon border with California, officials found hand-written notes indicating he’d put planning into his crimes.
In one note, titled “Operation Take Over,” Zuberi gave himself a to-do list.
- “Leave phone at home”
- “Make sure they dont have a bunch of ppl in their life. You dont want any type of investigation.”
He didn’t leave his phone at home when he kidnapped the victim in Seattle, investigators said; they used his cell phone GPS records to show he was in Seattle and then traveled back to Klamath Falls. The victim’s phone followed the same path, according to court records.
On another notebook page, investigators found a sketch of what appears to be an underground structure with “foam insulation” and “waterproof concrete” that said to “Dig a hole straight down 100 ft.”
Where has he lived?
Zuberi has lived in multiple states since 2016, possibly including California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama and Nevada, the FBI said.
The FBI’s Detroit Office confirmed to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, that Zuberi also lived in Ecorse, Michigan, from April 2017 to September 2017.
Contributing: The Associated Press
