By james art A federal grand jury on Friday found an Oregon man guilty of kidnapping and raping two women held in a cage he built in his garage in Klamath Falls.
Negasi Zuberi, 30, also known as Justin Joshua Heiche, 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 fled and drove passing driver. Zuberi was originally charged with interstate kidnapping, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Investigators said he kidnapped the woman while posing as a police officer and placed 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 in a makeshift cage built into his garage. The woman told the investigators that she slept for a while, then, fearing she would die, she kicked the cell door until her hands were covered in blood and smashed it.
During the course of the investigation, federal agents learned that this was not the first time Zuberi had kidnapped someone and taken them back to his home. Zuberi kidnapped and raped another victim on May 6, 2023, the U.S. 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 held 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 count of kidnapping along with charges of unlawful possession of firearms, ammunition and attempted escape.
Both victims were 21 at the time, The Oregonian reported.
The eight-day trial ended Friday after four hours of jury deliberations. The jury found him guilty of all charges.
Zuberi’s defense called no witnesses, but instead released a video he took of one of the victims in the back of his van, saying it showed they had consensual sex. But that woman testified earlier this week that Zuberi made what he called an “insuring” video, forcing her to lie on top of him and pretend she was having fun. The goal was to coerce her into silence, prosecutors say.
“He made her fears come true,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan J. Lichvareik in her 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.
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[Featured image: Negasi Zuberi/FBI]