Man who allegedly locked Seattle woman in cinderblock cell attempts jail escape
Aug 25, 2023, 6:21 PM | Updated: Aug 26, 2023, 9:00 am
This undated photo provided by the FBI's Portland Field Office shows Negasi Zuberi. Authorities say Zuberi who posed as an undercover police officer kidnapped a woman in Seattle, drove her hundreds of miles to his home in Oregon, and kept her in a makeshift cell from which she eventually escaped and found help. The FBI said Aug. 1, 2023, that police in Reno, Nevada, arrested Zuberi. (Photo: FBI via AP)
(Photo: FBI via AP)
An Oregon man tried to escape from custody this week, according to local authorities, as he faces charges of kidnapping a woman in Seattle and locking her in a cinderblock cell.
The suspect, Negasi Zuberi, was discovered trying to break through the window of his jail cell at Jackson County Jail in Medford, Oregon, Tuesday afternoon after a Jackson County Maintenance worker outside the building heard a suspicious noise from inside one of the cells. The jail’s exterior windows are made of reinforced glass, so Zuberi was only able to damage the interior layer of the window.
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While searching the cell further, deputies found an improvised tool that was suspected to have been used to damage the window.
Zuberi, 29, is being held on federal charges after investigators claimed he kidnapped a woman off Aurora Avenue in Seattle, sexually assaulted her, then drove her to his home in southern Oregon and locked her in a cinderblock cell.
The woman managed to break free and run for help. Investigators believe there are more victims.
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Zuberi is being held until his next court date in October. In addition to crimes he has already been accused of, Zuberi now faces additional charges of second-degree attempted escape and first-degree disorderly conduct. He has been moved into a hard cell with no exterior windows.
