Klamath Falls man convicted in federal court of kidnapping and sexual assault

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — A federal jury has found a Klamath Falls, Oregon, man guilty after he kidnapped and sexually assaulted two women and held one of them in a cell he built in his garage.

Negasi Zuberi, 30, also known as Justin Joshua Hyche, was found guilty of kidnapping, transporting a victim for criminal sexual activity and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on July 15, 2023, Zuberi posed as a police officer in Seattle and restrained his victim in the back seat of his vehicle with a Taser and handcuffs. Zuberi then transported the victim approximately 450 miles to his home in Klamath Falls, stopping along the way to sexually assault her.

When Zuberi arrived at his apartment, he took the victim from his vehicle to a cell he had built in his garage. The woman repeatedly knocked on the cell door until it broke open and she was able to escape. The victim retrieved a handgun from Zuberi’s vehicle, fled from his garage and flagged down a passing motorist who called 911.

The next day, July 16, 2023, Reno Police Department officers and Nevada State Patrol officers located Zuberi in a parking lot in Reno, Nevada. After a brief standoff, Zuberi surrendered to law enforcement and was taken into custody.

While investigating Zuberi’s crimes, federal agents discovered that Zuberi had kidnapped and sexually assaulted another victim approximately six weeks before the Seattle kidnapping on May 6, 2023. While being held by Zuberi, his first victim discovered stacked cinder blocks in his garage, which he later used to build the cell in which he held his second victim.

On August 2, 2023, a federal grand jury in Medford indicted Zuberi for kidnapping and transporting a victim with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Later, on February 15, 2024, a second charge of kidnapping was added, as well as charges of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and attempted escape, replacing the charge.

Kidnapping is punishable by up to life in federal prison, and transporting a victim across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity is punishable by up to 10 years. Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and attempting to escape are punishable by up to 15 years.

This case was investigated by the FBI Portland Field Office, the Klamath Falls Police Department, and the Oregon State Police, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, the Klamath County District Attorney’s Office, and the Klamath County District Attorney’s Office. Reno, Nevada Police Department; District Attorney’s Office of Washoe County, Nevada; and Nevada State Police. The prosecution was brought by Jeffrey S. Sweet, Marco A. Boccato and Nathan J. Lichvarcik, AssistantU.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon, assisted by Appellate Director Suzanne Miles, also of the District of Oregon.