The forklift pulled a safe out of the front of the business by tearing down the wall. - Frank Bott/Daily Herald

A man who used a forklift to steal a safe full of guns has pleaded guilty in the US District Court.

Deseret Morning News reported that Ryan Ferguson, 30, entered a guilty plea to one charge of possessing a firearm by a convicted felon.

He faces the possibility of 10 years in a federal prison when sentenced on April 3. His plea bargain spared him the possibility of 20 years in jail.

Lehi police said Ferguson stole a Utah Department of Transportation forklift, which he used to ram through the wall of a heating and cooling company. He then used the forklift to carry a safe containing 26 firearms (Forkliftaction.com News #230).

US District Court Judge Dee Benson asked him: "Why did you need 26 guns?", but Ferguson's defence attorney stopped him before he could answer.

She was concerned his answer would affect his sentence.