## Facts

- Anthony Webb lived in an apartment with Jason Stansbury, Crisee Moore, and Moore’s young child.
- After an anonymous report about drugs and guns, police contacted Stansbury in a car; a search revealed nothing.
- Officers went to the apartment; Moore consented to entry, and officers observed marijuana in plain view.
- Police obtained a search warrant and executed it later, finding marijuana in multiple locations, drug paraphernalia, and an unloaded handgun with ammunition.
- Webb was not present during the initial entry or when the warrant was executed; he returned hours later while the search was ongoing.
- Police found several hundred dollars in Webb’s possession but no drugs; Webb stated the money came from Moore.
- The State offered no fingerprint or similar forensic evidence linking Webb to the contraband and did not establish when he was last in the apartment before the search.
- The State introduced evidence that Webb had previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver marijuana based on earlier drug activity in the same apartment.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence was sufficient to prove Webb constructively possessed marijuana in a jointly occupied apartment, supporting convictions for marijuana possession and failure to affix a drug tax stamp.
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to prove Webb had the required custody or control of Moore’s child to support a child endangerment conviction.

## Decision

- The Iowa Supreme Court vacated the court of appeals decision and reversed the district court’s judgment on all counts.
- The court held the evidence was insufficient to prove Webb’s constructive possession of marijuana and therefore insufficient to support the drug tax-stamp conviction.
- The court held the evidence was insufficient to prove Webb had custody or control of the child as required for child endangerment.

## Legal Principles

- To prove constructive possession, the State must show the defendant had dominion and control over the contraband, knowledge of its presence, and knowledge of its nature as a controlled substance.
- When contraband is found in jointly occupied premises, joint occupancy alone does not permit an inference of possession; the State must prove additional incriminating circumstances linking the defendant to the contraband.
- Examples of additional incriminating circumstances can include exclusive control over the area where contraband is found, admissions, incriminating conduct, or other evidence specifically tying the defendant to the items.
- Evidence of prior drug activity may be relevant but cannot substitute for proof that the defendant knowingly exercised dominion and control over contraband found on the charged occasion.
- For child endangerment, “custody or control” requires proof of a present, meaningful supervisory or custodial role; living in the same residence as a child, without more, is insufficient.

## Conclusion

The court reversed Webb’s convictions because the State failed to present individualized evidence linking him to the marijuana found in a shared residence and failed to prove he exercised custodial or supervisory control over the child at the relevant time.


State v. Webb, 648 N.W.2d 72 (Iowa 2002)