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Two arrests made in Niagara Falls home invasion

Posted at 11:26 AM, May 02, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-03 12:35:28-04

A Falls man and woman are now in custody after police say they broke into a home and robbed two elderly women.

Police Erika Cooper and Jason Markovitz broke into a home in the LaSalle neighborhood last weekend. According to police, the pair woke up the women, aged 89 and 95, bound them with duct tape, and then ransacked the home.

Police believe the couple were looking for drugs but they couldn't find any. That's when officers say the two dragged the women out of their bedrooms and tied them up using the cords from an oxygen machine that was used by one of the victims. Cooper and Markovitz then grabbed cash, jewelry and debit cards and took off.

The suspects had cut the phone line before breaking in according to police, forcing one of the victims to make an emergency call from their neighbor's home.

Detectives say Markovitz and Cooper used the card to go shopping, and also pawned off the jewelry at a shop in Niagara Falls. Thanks to video of the suspects from the pawn shop, police say they were able to recover some of the jewelry that was stolen.

The two elderly victims were not seriously injured, police added.

Markovitz and Cooper both face charges of robbery, burglary, and grand larceny. The suspects were arraigned Friday and put in jail without bail.