FBI releases timeline of accused kidnapper Negasi Zuberi's past residences
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released a timeline of where accused kidnapper Negasi Zuberi has lived as authorities search for additional victims of his after a woman escaped from a cinderblock cell in the garage of his Klamath Falls home in July.
Authorities believe 29-year-old Zuberi -- who also went by the names Sakima, Justin Hyche and Justin Kouassi -- is not originally from Oregon and only lived in the state for a few months.
According to the FBI, he lived in 10 states over the past 10 years and authorities believe there could be additional victims. The investigation has expanded to multiple states including Washington; Oregon; Colorado; Utah; Florida; New York; New Jersey; Alabama and Nevada. Zuberi is also linked to at least four sexual assaults in four states, according to authorities.
On Thursday, the FBI released a timeline of where they believe Zuberi has previously resided, with some overlapping dates.
Timeline of Zuberi's residences
| Denver, CO | March 2022-May 2023 |
| Portland, OR | Sept. 2022 |
| Vancouver, WA | Aug. 2022 |
| Las Vegas, NV | July 2019 - June 2021 |
| Chicago, IL | Jan. 2019 – Dec. 2019 |
| Bronx, NY | July 2018 - June 2019 |
| Ecorse, MI | April 2017 – Sept. 2017 |
| Orlando, FL | July 2014 – May 2015 |
| Washington County, UT | Frequented since roughly 2016 |
| New Jersey | Frequented (unspecified dates) |
| Tuscaloosa, AL | June 2014, June 2018 – April 2020 |
| Northport, AL | April 2014-June 2018 |
| Antioch, CA | Nov. 2019 – Feb. 2021 |
| Vacaville, CA | Nov. 2017 – Feb. 2019 |
| Oakland, CA | Oct. 2012 – March 2018 |
| Azusa, CA | March 2016 – June 2016 |
| Granada Hills, CA | Feb. 2016 – July 2016 |
Zuberi’s former roommates, James Dunn and Prentice Gerald, say they knew him as Sakima when they lived in a house near Prairie High School in Clark County, Washington months ago. They all shared the house with Zuberi’s girlfriend and their two young boys.
They say Zuberi told them he was the owner and landlord, and even collected their rents. Court records show the real owner of the house worked to evict Zuberi in April – and one neighbor even filed a restraining order against him.
“The cops were always showing up,” Dunn said. “There was constantly drama happening in and out of the house.”
As reported by the Associated Press, the Klamath Falls rental home where Zuberi allegedly took the woman, is owned by the city’s mayor, Carol Westfall, and her husband Kevin. According to the Associated Press, after Zuberi’s arrest, the couple evicted him.
“We are shocked and dismayed by what has occurred,” the Westfalls said. “We applaud the actions of the woman who helped capture this person and prevent him from committing further atrocities.”
During that time, there was a documented call to animal control in which two pitbulls from Zuberi's house were running in the cul-de-sac. Court records show that officers took down the name Sakima Stringer and a phone number.
KOIN 6 called the phone number and found out that Sakima Stringer is, in fact, a real person.
“This is mind boggling on many different levels, first the crimes, then the person using my information, my name and it's you know…I'm baffled right now,” Stringer said.
Stringer has ties to Portland and Vancouver too. He admits there's a resemblance.
“There's some similarities. I'm not saying he's my cousin or anything, but there's some similarities, you know, when I was younger which is, it makes it even more trippy,” he said.
Stringer contacted the FBI hoping to avoid getting any more mixed up in the case. He’s also rethinking how public some of his information is.
“I don't know how that person got my information, Stringer said. “I run a business so some information is public, but it makes me want to never use social media again.”
During a press conference on Wednesday, the FBI said Zuberi traveled from his Klamath Falls home to Seattle on July 15, 2023, where he approached a woman around midnight near Aurora Avenue and solicited prostitution, according to court documents.
Zuberi claimed to be a police officer and showed the victim a badge saying he needed to take her into custody, according to the documents, adding that he then pointed a taser at the victim before putting her in handcuffs and leg irons and putting her in the back of his car.
The woman said once they arrived at the Klamath Falls home, he put her into a makeshift cell in the garage he made out of cinder blocks and a metal door installed in reverse so it could not be opened from the inside, officials said.
According to authorities, the woman was locked in the cell for a few hours and after Zuberi left, she escaped by punching and banging on the door several times to break the welds.
Once outside the cell, the woman said she found Zuberi’s car and when she opened it, she found a handgun, which she took before fleeing the house and flagging down a motorist who called 911, court documents said.
The next day, Zuberi was found in Reno, Nevada in a Walmart parking lot holding one of his children in the front seat of his car while talking to his wife, according to law enforcement.
Court documents say that authorities contacted him, and he refused to leave the vehicle and cut himself with a sharp object causing him to bleed heavily. The documents also said he tried to destroy his phone. The child was unharmed.
After a 45-minute standoff with authorities, Zuberi was taken into custody, officials said. Zuberi appeared in front of a federal judge on July 26 and will be taken back to Oregon.
“If she didn’t do what she did, we wouldn’t be here today and Mr. Zubari would not be in custody,” Klamath Falls Police Captain Rob Reyolds said during a press conference. “I want to personally thank her for her bravery and what she did to get through that ordeal.”
During the press conference, FBI Assistant Special Agent in charge Stephanie Shark said, “the victim is strong and courageous and right now she is physically okay, and we are working with her through our victim services department to make sure she has whatever resources she needs to continue to be resilient.”
Shark added that this case points to the suspect’s “ongoing and escalating pattern of violence targeting women in multiple states throughout the country.”
The FBI encourages those who believe they are victims to contact them.
“I want to thank the brave women who fought for their lives to get us where we are today. Now it is our turn to take their burden and fight for them and any other victims out there and seek justice,” Shark said.
Authorities say Zubari has been charged with a federal criminal complaint for one count of interstate kidnapping, which carries a max sentence of up to life in prison. Transporting an individual across state lines with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison.
Officials anticipate Zuberi will appear in federal court in Medford in the coming weeks.
This is a developing story.