Oregon man found guilty after police say he held a woman hostage in a cinder block dungeon

By Zoe Sottile, CNN

(CNN) — An Oregon man has been found guilty on kidnapping, sex crimes and weapons charges after holding a woman captive in a makeshift prison in his garage, according to federal officials.

Negasi Zuberi, 30, was found guilty on Friday of kidnapping, transporting a victim for criminal sexual activity, and illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

Zuberi posed as a police officer and used a Taser and handcuffs to detain one victim in the backseat of his car in July 2023 in Seattle, according to the news release. He then drove her over 400 miles to his home in Klamath Falls, “stopping along the way to sexually assault her,” the release says.

At his home, Zuberi moved the victim into a “cell he had constructed in his garage,” the Justice Department release says.

“The woman repeatedly banged on the cell door until it broke open and she escaped,” the news release says. “The victim retrieved a handgun from Zuberi’s vehicle, fled his garage, and flagged down a passing motorist who called 911.”

Police arrested Zuberi the next day in Reno, Nevada.

The July incident wasn’t the first time Zuberi had kidnapped a victim, according to authorities: During the course of their investigation, federal agents found that about six weeks before, he had kidnapped and sexually assaulted another victim.

“While being held by Zuberi, his first victim observed stacked cinder blocks in his garage that he later used to construct the cell where he detained his second victim,” the release says.

The kidnapping charges are punishable by up to life in prison, according to the release.

The jury deliberated for just over four hours before returning a verdict, according to CNN affiliate KDRV.

As part of his closing arguments, Zuberi’s defense attorney, Michael Berthoff, questioned what he framed as discrepancies in the two victims’ testimonies. “This case is about nothing other than the credibility of” the victims, he said, according to KDRV.

Assistant US Attorney for Oregon Nathan Lichvarcik, alternately, showed photos of one victim’s injuries.

“The doctor at the ER knew it when he saw it; somebody hit her… those are the marks of power, control and forcible domination,” he said, according to KDVR. “Those are the marks of rape.”

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