FRANKLIN TWP — A $50 makeshift garbage can proved much more costly for two Butler County men.

Joshua David Brown and Justin James Wojciehowski are accused of stealing the 55-gallon drum container from a Franklin Township car wash.

An off-duty trooper early Tuesday morning happened on the suspected theft, which touched off a high-speed chase that ended with another officer being injured, state police said.

Brown, 26, of Franklin Township and Wojciehowski, 25, of Fairview Township were arrested and jailed.

Both men are charged with theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy for taking the trash can.

But Brown faces more serious charges of aggravated assault and fleeing or attempting to elude police, both felonies.

Additionally, he is charged with driving under the influence, simple assault, criminal mischief, driving at an unsafe speed, driving on the wrong side of the road, reckless driving and careless driving.

Brown and Wojciehowski were arraigned on charges and placed in the Butler County Prison on $25,000 and $5,000 bail, respectively.

Police said the pair about 2:45 a.m. were seen at the car wash on North Road allegedly putting the blue, plastic drum into the back of Brown's pickup truck. The container served as a garbage can in the shop vac area at the business owned by John Orlosky.

The defendants drove off but were soon being followed by a police cruiser, which had its emergency lights and siren on, according to court documents.

Brown refused to stop, police said, and continued onto Eagle Mill Road. The pickup at one point nearly hit the cruiser.

The truck, however, did hit and damage a stone pillar on Ragan Road in Connoquenessing Township.

The nearly 3-mile chase came to a halt when Brown got out of his truck and ran, but he was caught in a field.

Brown, however, did not put the pickup in park before he fled. The truck drifted into another police cruiser as Trooper Michael Mrkonja was getting out of the vehicle.

The impact caused the cruiser's open door to hit Mrkonja in the left thigh, documents said. He suffered a minor bruise.

Later, an intoxilyzer test showed Brown's blood-alcohol level was 0.175 percent, more than double the 0.08 percent level considered intoxicated under state law.