An army veteran is grateful he keeps his gun close by where he sleeps and was stunned by what he caught a thief doing in his house.

Around 2 a.m. Monday, James Crum woke up to noise coming from his kitchen.

"I thought at first it was a coon or opossum," he said.

Somebody had cut through his porch screen door at his home just off Route 52 in South Point.

The 81-year-old grabbed his gun from under his pillow.

He walked into the kitchen and was in disbelief when he saw what the home invader was doing.

"He was laying on the floor mixing chocolate syrup with milk," Crum said.

Crum held the suspect, Anthony Giammarco, at gunpoint. Crum called 911 and a deputy showed up about 5 minutes later and arrested the suspect.

"I put the gun to the back of his head and told him 'If you move, it may be your last one.' He said 'Uh huh,' and he just kept mixing the milk with the chocolate."

The deputy says the suspect appeared to be under the influence and claimed Mr. Crum was his grandpa, but Crum says he'd never seen him before.

Crum says his kitchen had been ransacked.

"I think he tinkled while he was lying there too because there was a wet spot there," Crum said.

Crum says with the drug problem being so bad, he was afraid a break-in was a matter of time.

"I don't want them in my place," he said.

Crum says he's cleaned up the mess left behind on his carpet, but he hasn't gotten around to getting new milk yet.

According to the criminal complaint, the deputy found wet clothes, a utility belt, and a large straight blade fighting style knife outside the side door on the screened porch.

Giammarco is charged with theft, vandalism, possessing criminal tools and burglary. He is being held on a $100,000 bond at the Lawrence County Jail and is due in court Monday.