State v. Webb
Iowa Supreme Court
648 N.W. 2d 72 (2002)
Anthony Webb (defendant) shared an apartment with two other adults; police, responding to an anonymous complaint, found marijuana in plain view and, after obtaining a warrant, found more marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and a gun. Webb was not present during most of the search, returned later with cash but no drugs on him, and no fingerprint or other direct evidence tied him to the contraband, though the state introduced his prior guilty plea for drug activity in the same apartment. Webb was convicted of possession and other charges and appealed the sufficiency of the evidence.
Whether constructive possession of an illegal substance may be inferred from its presence in a defendant's premises when the defendant did not have exclusive control over those premises.