Man arrested for kidnapping woman and placing her in makeshift cell caught trying to escape jail
The man arrested for kidnapping woman and holding her in a makeshift jail cell was caught trying to escape his own jail cell, authorities said.
Negasi Zuberi, 29 was arrested earlier this month after a federal investigators linked him to a disturbing cross-country kidnapping.
According to the FBI, Zuberi detained a woman in Seattle, Washington after impersonating an undercover police officer. He then drove her over 450 miles to his home in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Zuberi then allegedly detained her in a makeshift cell made out of cinderblocks in his garage. The victim was only able to escape after she ‘beat the door with her hands until they were bloody,’ investigators said.
Zuberi was eventually taken into custody in a parking lot in Reno, Nevada. He is now charged with interstate kidnapping – a federal charge that could land him a maximum sentence of life in prison.
However, the FBI also said they suspect he was involved in similar kidnappings across the country.
‘To date, Zuberi has been linked to at least four sexual assaults in four other states,’ Special Agent-in-charge Stephanie Shark said at a press conference. ‘We believe there may be more victims.’
After his arrest, Zuberi was extradited back to Oregon and detained at the Jackson County Jail in Medford.
Around 12.45pm on Tuesday afternoon, a maintenance worker at the jail reported hearing ‘suspicious’ noises outside the facility.
When sheriff’s deputies began investigating, they found Zuberi standing on his bunk bed near a ‘chipped’ window in his cell.
Deputies also found an ‘improvised tool’ that they believe he was using to chip away at the window.
‘The Jail’s exterior windows are made of reinforced glass so Zuberi was only able to damage the interior layer of the window,’ the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said.
Zuberi was arrested again, sent through a full-body scanner, and moved to a ‘hard cell’ with no exterior windows.
Alongside his federal charges, Zuberi now faces Oregon state charges of second-degree attempted escape and first-degree disorderly conduct, the sheriff’s office said.
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