Negasi Zuberi Sentenced To Life In Prison For Kidnapping & Sexual Assaults

MEDFORD, Ore. — Negasi Zuberi, 31, of Klamath Falls, Oregon, also known as Justin Joshua Hyche, was sentenced in the Oregon U.S. District Court Eugene to life in federal prison yesterday for kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women and holding one in a cell he constructed in his garage.

Klamath Falls Man Sentenced To Consecutive Life Terms

Evidence in the trial indicated that Zuberi wanted to sire an army of children with different women in a bunker compound, possibly on land near Bonanza, Oregon, owned by Zuberi under an LLC. Federal investigators discovered that on May 6, 2023, approximately six weeks before the kidnapping in Seattle, Zuberi had kidnapped and sexually assaulted another victim before placing her in the same cinder block cell as the second victim.

Court documents indicate that Zuberi posed as a police officer in Seattle on July 15, 2023, using a taser and handcuffs to detain his victim in the backseat of his vehicle. During the approximately 450-mile drive to his home in Klamath Falls, Zuberi stopped along the way to sexually assault her.

When they reached Zuberi’s residence, the victim was moved from his vehicle into a cell he had constructed in his garage, but the women broke out by repeatedly banging on the cell door. The woman escaped and found a handgun from Zuberi’s vehicle. After fleeing the residence, the woman flagged down a passing motorist who called 911.

The next day, Reno Police Department and Nevada State Patrol officers located Zuberi in a parking lot in Reno, Nevada. He surrendered to law enforcement and was taken into custody after a brief standoff.

A federal grand jury in Medford returned an indictment on August 2, 2023, charging Zuberi with kidnapping and transporting a victim with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. A second kidnapping charge and charges for illegally possessing firearms and ammunition were later added on February 15, last year. A federal jury found Zuberi guilty of all charges on October 18.

After Negasi Zuberi was found guilty on all counts in October, Chief United States District Judge Michael J. McShane sentenced Zuberi to consecutive life sentences for two counts of kidnapping. A further 10 years for 55 consecutive years for transportation, 15 years each for two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, and another 15 years for one count of unlawful possession of ammunition was also imposed.