Fake cop kidnaps, sexually assaults and locks woman in cell in Oregon garage, feds say

A 31-year-old man is going to prison after being convicted of kidnapping a woman in Washington and sexually assaulting her in Oregon, federal officials said.
In July 2023, Negasi Zuberi was posing as an undercover cop in Seattle, according to a Jan. 17 news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.
He used a taser and handcuffs to kidnap a woman and drive her 450 miles south to his Klamath Falls, Oregon, home, sexually assaulting her along the way, prosecutors said.
Contact information for Zuberi was not available in public records and he did not have representation as of Jan. 20.
At his home, he moved the woman from his car to a cell he made in his garage, officials said.
That’s when the woman kept banging on the cell door until it opened and she was able to escape, officials said.
She grabbed the gun that Zuberi had in his car and left the garage before flagging down a driver who called 911, officials said.
Reno police officers found Zuberi in a parking lot and arrested him after a short standoff, officials said.
During the investigation, officials learned Zuberi had kidnapped and sexually assaulted another woman weeks before, officials said.
While held by Zuberi, the woman saw the stacked cinder blocks in the garage that were later used to make the cell, officials said.
Zuberi was convicted on charges of kidnapping, transportation, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition and unlawful possession of ammunition, according to court documents.
He was sentenced to life in prison, officials said.
Klamath Falls is about a 280-mile drive southeast of Portland.
If you have experienced sexual assault and need someone to talk to, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline for support at (800) 656-4673 or visit the hotline’s online chatroom.