The man awaiting federal trial in connection with the kidnapping and sexual assault of a woman whom he allegedly held captive in a makeshift cinderblock cell in Oregon faces similar allegations in a separate case, court records show.
Negasi Zuberi was indicted last week on multiple felony counts in the new case in Oregon, including first-degree rape, sexual abuse, kidnapping and assault, according to online court records in Klamath County.
Additional details about the charges were not immediately available. The Klamath County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
The new case was filed a little over a month after state authorities charged Zuberi with second-degree attempted escape and first-degree disorderly conduct in connection with a failed effort to flee from an Oregon jail where he has been held.
Federal authorities arrested Zuberi in July, alleging he solicited a sex worker in Seattle, posed as a police officer and drove her 450 miles to his home in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
There, Zuberi locked the woman inside a cell in the garage of a home he was renting, FBI official Stephanie Shark alleged at the time.
Shark said the woman escaped after having spent several hours “beating down the cell.”
Zuberi was arrested in Nevada on July 16, and he was later indicted on federal charges of kidnapping and transportation with intent to engage in sexual activity.
Zuberi’s lawyer in the federal case did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he has a lawyer to speak on his behalf in the state case.
In an interview last month, Shark said Zuberi was believed to have targeted sex workers in previous crimes using similar methods he’s accused of using in Seattle, including impersonating a police officer.
Zuberi has lived in a dozen states over the last decade, and he used several aliases, including “Sakima,” “Justin Hyche” and “Justin Kouassi,” authorities claimed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
