Share this
A federal grand jury on Friday found an Oregon man guilty of kidnapping and raping two women, holding one in a cell he constructed in his Klamatha Falls garage.....Read Full Article>>
Negasi Zuberi, 30, also known as Justin Joshua Hyche, was arrested on July 16, 2023, in Reno, Nevada where he fled with his family after a victim he kidnapped in Seattle and drove back to Oregon escaped and flagged down a passing motorist. Zuberi was charged initially with interstate kidnapping, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Investigators said he kidnapped the woman while pretending to be a police officer and put her in handcuffs and leg irons while holding her at Taser-point. Once at his home — where his wife and child lived — he locked her into a makeshift cell built into his garage.
The woman told investigators that she slept for a while, then, fearing she would die, slammed on the door to the cell until her hands were bloody and she broke it open.
In the course of the investigation, federal agents learned that it wasn’t the first time Zuberi had kidnapped someone and driven them back to his home. Zuberi kidnapped and raped another victim on May 6, 2023, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon said. That victim said she saw concrete blocks stacked in his garage — blocks that were later used to build the cell where he detained his second victim.
Zuberi was indicted on August 2, 2023, on charges of kidnapping and transporting a victim to engage in criminal sexual activity. Then, in August, a superseding indictment added a second kidnapping charge along with charges for illegally possessing firearms, ammunition, and attempted escape.
Both victims were 21 at the time, The Oregonian reported.
The eight-day trial ended on Friday after four hours of jury deliberations. The jurors found him guilty on all counts.
Zuberi’s defense called no witnesses but instead played a video he made of one of the victims in the back of his van, saying it showed they had consensual sex. But that woman had testified earlier in the week that Zuberi made what he called an “insurance” video, forcing her to lie on top of him and pretend she was enjoying herself. The purpose was to blackmail her into silence, prosecutors argued.
“He made her fears come true,” Assistant US Attorney Nathan J. Lichvareik said in his closing argument, but she took the stand anyway.
Zuberi faces up to life in prison on the kidnapping charges when he is sentenced on January 16.
Be the first to comment