Man's excuse for stolen safe falls with a thud

When you agree to help a friend move, make sure it won't involve stuffing a large stolen safe into a Toyota Camry. Especially when a burglar alarm is involved. This wisdom was gleaned from a U.S. Court of Appeals decision last week to uphold a 21-month sentence for a St. Paul man, Calvin Ray Washington, 49, for violating the "shall not commit another ... crime" term of his release on a 2009 "possession of stolen mail" conviction. In 2010, Minneapolis police caught Washington and another man attempting to remove a safe from Golden Leaf Tobacco Shop in Uptown. Though Washington's lawyer admitted his client's story was "a bit too convenient," he argued that Washington was at the scene "by accident essentially" and was "being paid to help an acquaintance move," court records show. Read the court decision here.