Stealing three bags of aluminum cans worth a total of $25 can cost more than it pays.

That’s what two Athens men learned Friday.

Timothy Darnell Maynor, 24, of 17356 Lucas Ferry Road, and Shaun Christopher Holley, 20, of 1703 Edward St., were arrested after the owner of the cans held the two at gunpoint until sheriff’s deputies arrived.

“The homeowner came home and found these two guys in his yard stealing the aluminum cans he had collected,” said Limestone County Chief Investigator Stanley McNatt. “He pulled a gun on them and held them until Investigator Josh McLaughlin and Deputy Tim Craig got there.”

The arrests led investigators to other thefts the duo may have committed, McNatt said.

“When we were questioning them, Investigator Brian Ruble was working a burglary on Poff Lane where two rifles and a back pack were stolen,” he said. “We searched their car and found those stolen items inside the vehicle.”

He said the two men were also charged for theft in another home burglary on Poff Lane. Maynor and a companion, Erica King, 31, of 19472 Heron Drive, Athens, are also charged with the burglary of a home last October.

Maynor was being held in the Limestone County Jail Friday night on charges of third-degree theft and three counts of third-degree burglary. Holley is charged with third-degree theft and two counts of third-degree burglary. King is charged with third-degree burglary.