FILE - This undated booking photo provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Portland Field Office shows Negasi Zuberi, who was arrested in July 2023 for allegedly kidnapping a woman in Seattle, driving her hundreds of miles to his home in Klamath Falls and locking her in the makeshift cinder block cell.
FBI / AP
Note: This story contains descriptions of sexual assault. If you or someone you know may be a victim of sexual assault, confidential support, information and advice are available at the National Sexual Assault Hotline by calling 800-656-4673. Text chat is also available online.
On Friday, a federal judge sentenced a Klamath Falls man convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women.
U.S. District Judge Michael McShane called Negasi Zuberi a “predator” and “incapable of feeling remorse” before handing him two consecutive life sentences on Friday at the federal courthouse in Medford, Oregon.
Zuberi, 31, was convicted in October for kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women in 2023. He took one victim from the streets of Seattle, posing as a police officer and using a taser and handcuffs to detain her in the back seat of his car. He drove her to his home in Klamath Falls, stopping along the way to sexually assault her, then locking her in a cinder-block cell he had built in his garage. The woman later escaped from the cell while Zuberi was away, flagging down a passing motorist for help.
Investigators subsequently found that about six weeks before the kidnapping in Seattle, Zuberi had kidnapped and sexually assaulted another victim. That woman, who met Zuberi in a bar in Klamath Falls, told investigators she had seen a stack of cinder blocks in Zuberi’s garage, which he evidently later used to build the cell in which he detained his second victim.
“He hunted women,” explained federal prosecutor Jeffrey Sweet, who summarized Zuberi’s planning before abducting the first victims. Those actions included monitoring women’s vehicles and compiling a list of names labeled “targets.” Investigators also uncovered notes written by Zuberi referencing a plan called “Operation Take Over” and a scheme to build an underground prison for women at a property in Bonanza, Oregon.
Related: Klamath Falls man found guilty of kidnapping and sexual assault of two women
Zuberi’s first victim spoke before the court again before his sentencing. She called Zuberi “merciless” and said his assault took away her ability to feel safe around people. She said she cut her hair, which Zuberi had used to drag her where he pleased, because it no longer felt like hers. And she told the judge that she has stopped wearing makeup or dressing in nice clothes so as not to draw attention to herself.
“I don’t feel clean. I don’t feel human,” she said.
The judge applauded the woman’s bravery and said the only reason for hope to come out of this case was witness testimony from a passerby in Klamath Falls that helped one of Zuberi’s escaped victims without hesitation.
Zuberi, who represented himself at sentencing, referred to the women he kidnapped and assaulted as “false victims” and denied all wrongdoing. He accused the court of corruption, claimed his court-appointed lawyers had instructed witnesses to lie and referred to himself as a political prisoner. He said he has never beaten a woman and complained about suffering “weeks of degradation” that made him “look like a bad person.”
Zuberi had a defiant tone throughout his statement until he broke down in tears talking about his two sons. Prosecutors had referenced footage of Zuberi’s arrest which showed him use one of those children as a human shield during the standoff. Zuberi called on the U.S. president to look into his case.
Judge McShane denied 19 motions Zuberi filed related to his convictions. Those complaints include allegations that negative media coverage impacted jurors and ineffective legal counsel. The judge said he will appoint Zuberi an attorney for his expected appeal.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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