Man Guilty After Woman Escapes Cinderblock Cell by Beating Door with Hands 'Until They Were Bloody'

The U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Oregon announced Friday that 30-year-old Negasi Zuberi -- also known as Justin Joshua Hyche -- was found guilty of kidnapping, transporting a victim for criminal sexual activity, and illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon.

Per the release, kidnapping is punishable by up to life in federal prison and transporting a victim across state lines with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity by up to 10 years. Illegally possessing firearms and ammunition, and attempted escape are punishable by up to 15 years.

He'll be sentenced on January 16.

The FBI, citing court records, initially said Zuberi traveled from his home in Klamath Falls, Oregon to Seattle, Washington, where he hired a sex worker before posing as an undercover police officer. According to the victim, he then held a taser at her, telling her she was under arrest, before putting her in handcuffs and leg irons and bringing her back to his home -- telling her he "needed to take her for processing."

She said that on the trip back to Oregon, she was raped and sexually assaulted.

Upon returning to Oregon, the victim said Zuberi then put her into a "makeshift cell" he constructed in his garage, equipped with a door that couldn't be opened from the inside. Per AP, a criminal complaint said the victim told police she "briefly slept and awoke to the realization that she would likely die if she did not attempt to escape." She banged on the door until some of the door's welded joints broke, creating an opening large enough for her to escape.

Per the U.S. Attorney's Office, she also grabbed a handgun from Zuberi's vehicle, before she allegedly ran out of the house "screaming for help," flagging down a passing motorist, who called authorities.

“Police say she beat the door with her hands until they were bloody in order to break free," said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Shark of the FBI Portland Field Office in a press release.

The local police department then received a search warrant for Zuberi's residence, where they found the cell as described by the victim, as well as her purse. By this time, the suspect had already fled to Reno, Nevada with his wife and child, where he was apprehended the next day following "a brief standoff with local police," who tracked his location thanks to "cellphone technology."

While looking into his crimes, federal agents also discovered "that approximately six weeks prior to the kidnapping in Seattle, on May 6, 2023, Zuberi kidnapped and sexually assaulted another victim." The other victim allegedly said they "observed stacked cinder blocks in his garage that he later used to construct the cell where he detained his second victim."

After he was initially charged with kidnapping and transporting a victim with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, a second kidnapping charge and charges for illegally possessing firearms, ammunition, and attempted escape were added.