The man awaiting federal trial for 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 Thursday with multiple felonies in the new case in Oregon, including 1st degree rape, sexual abuse, kidnapping and assault, according to online court records in Klamath County.
Additional details on 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 Zuberi was charged by state authorities 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 after he allegedly solicited a sex worker in Seattle, posing as a police officer before driving her 450 miles to his home in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
There, Zuberi allegedly locked the woman inside a cell in the garage of a home he was renting, FBI official Stephanie Shark said at the time.
Shark said the woman escaped after spending several hours “beating down the cell.”
Zuberi was arrested in Nevada on July 16 and 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 if he has a lawyer to speak on his behalf in the state case.
In an interview with NBC News last month, Shark said Zuberi was believed to have targeted sex workers in previous crimes while using similar methods that 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 said.