A neighbor says there was nothing strange about the house in Oregon where a man is said to have held a woman captive.

Negasi Zuberi, who officials say is also linked to four sexual assaults in four states, once helped a neighbor break up a dog fight and gave chest compressions afterward.

Credited to NBC News

A man is accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting, and holding a woman hostage in his Oregon garage. The woman’s neighbor said Wednesday that nothing seemed out of the ordinary at the home and that the suspect once saved her pet from a fight between two dogs that could have killed it.

Negasi Zuberi, who police say is linked to at least four violent sexual assaults in four states, moved with his wife and two children to a quiet suburb of Klamath Falls about six months ago, NBC News reporter Melanie McClure said.

Zuberi, who is 29 years old, was arrested on July 16 and charged with one count of kidnapping across state lines in federal court in Oregon. A statement of probable cause made public on Wednesday says that he was arrested after a standoff in the parking lot of a Walmart in Nevada.

Negasi Zuberi has lived in more than 10 states, so the FBI’s Portland Field Office wants the public’s help to find possible victims.

McClure, an occupational therapist who has lived in the neighborhood since 2016 and lives next door to the house, said that when she met Zuberi, he told her his name was “Sakima” and that he had just moved to the area from Colorado.

“He’s not too friendly, but he’s not a jerk or anything,” McClure, 45, said about the man when they talked. “I didn’t see anything that made me think he did what he’s being accused of,” she said.

The federal government said Wednesday that Zuberi also went by “Justin Hyche” and “Justin Kouassi.”

A couple of months after the family moved in, McClure’s two dogs, a Doberman pinscher puppy, and a much smaller Pomeranian-husky mix, got into a fight in her front yard. She said. The giant grabbed the smaller dog’s collar and choked it.

Zuberi “was ready to help immediately and asked, “You want help?” McClure thought back. “I was in trouble.”

McClure said that when they finally freed the smaller dog, he was almost unconscious, and Zuberi gave him chest compressions.

She said, “He saved him.” “He returned him for me.”

After that, she left the family a bottle of wine and a thank-you card, McClure said.

McClure said, “I’m surprised I didn’t notice anything.” “Here’s the thing: anything can be hidden by anyone.”

McClure never found out what Zuberi did for a living, but he said it didn’t look like he worked from 9 to 5. She said his wife was a “lovely” mother who had no idea what he was accused of doing.

McClure said, “She’s doing her best to get through this.”

We could not reach Zuberi’s wife, despite our best efforts.

When asked for a comment, Zuberi’s lawyer did not answer immediately.

In a statement released Wednesday, Zuberi’s landlords, Klamath Falls Mayor Carol Westfall and her husband Kevin Westfall, said they were “shocked and saddened” by what happened.

On July 21, the couple filed a residential complaint for eviction. They gave Zuberi and “all others” 24 hours’ notice that there had been “personal injury, significant damage, an extremely outrageous act, or an unlawful occupant” at the property.

In their statement, the Westfalls thanked local, state, and federal police, as well as the woman who, according to the police, escaped from Zuberi’s makeshift cinder block cell.

According to the probable cause statement, Zuberi pretended to be a police officer when he allegedly approached the sex worker in Seattle on July 15 and said he needed to take her into custody while pointing a stun gun at her.

The statement says that Zuberi is accused of putting her in leg irons and handcuffs and then sexually assaulting her while driving her to his house, about 450 miles south of Seattle. The woman slept once she got there, but she “suddenly woke up and realized she was probably going to die if she didn’t try to escape,” the statement says.

“Police say she beat on the door until her hands were bloody to get out,” FBI Portland Field Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Shark told reporters Wednesday.

Suspect’s house is Negasi Zuberi in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Google Maps is a mapping service.

The statement says that when she got outside, she waved down a passing car, and the driver called 911.

When the police searched Zuberi’s house, they found a handwritten note with the words “Operation take over,” and bullet points like “leave the phone at home” and “make sure they don’t have a lot of people in their life.” The statement says, “You don’t want any investigation.”

Shark said that Zuberi was linked to at least four more violent sexual assaults in at least four states. She did not say where these assaults happened, though.

Over the last ten years, he has lived in 12 states: California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Alabama, and Nevada. The FBI says he may have targeted victims in some ways, such as by putting drugs in drinks or pretending to be a police officer.

The agency set up a website for the investigation where possible victims or other people with information about the case can fill out a form to provide more details.