Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 724.3 (2026)

Unauthorized possession of offensive weapons

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section IA-LEGlegis.iowa.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Any person, other than a person authorized in this chapter, who knowingly possesses an offensive weapon commits a class “D” felony. [C27, 31, 35, §12960-b3; C39, §12960.03; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, §696.3; C71, 73, 75, 77, §696.3, 697.11; C79, 81, §724.3] 2018 Acts, ch 1026, §176

\n
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 31 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1949–2024 · leading case: State v. Halliburton, 539 N.W.2d 339 (Iowa 1995).
State v. Halliburton, 539 N.W.2d 339 (Iowa 1995). · cites it 10× “See Iowa Code §§ 724.3 , 724.26 (1993). He presents two claims on appeal: (1) evidence obtained in four searches of his mother’s car should have been suppressed because the searches violated the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and article I, section 8 of the…”
State v. Winders, 366 N.W.2d 193 (Iowa Ct. App. 1985). · cites it 20× “Iowa Code section 724.3 provides: Unauthorized possession of offensive weapons.”
State v. Kidd, 562 N.W.2d 764 (Iowa 1997). · cites it 10× “Iowa Code § 724.3 (1995). 1 Kidd argued at trial the simultaneous possession of three offensive weapons constitutes only one violation of Iowa Code section 724.”
State of Iowa v. Randy Mitchell Copenhaver, 844 N.W.2d 442 (Iowa 2014). · cites it 4× “at 765 (quoting Iowa Code § 724.3 (1995)). We analyzed the use of the word “an” in the statute and determined the ordinary meaning referred to possession of a single weapon.”
State of Iowa v. Deng Kon Tong, 805 N.W.2d 599 (Iowa 2011). · cites it 4× “On December 15, 2009, Tong was arrested and charged with unauthorized possession of an offensive weapon (a sawed-off shotgun) under Iowa Code section 724.3. The charge was later amended to being a felon in possession of a firearm under section 724.”
State of Iowa v. Valentin Velez, 829 N.W.2d 572 (Iowa 2013). · cites it 2× “” The statutory language defining the unit of prosecution under section 724.3 is “an offensive weapon.” Kidd contends the word “an” is ambiguous.”
State v. Pexa, 574 N.W.2d 344 (Iowa 1998). · cites it 6× “Defendant, Mark Frederick Pexa, appeals from his conviction following trial to the court of the unauthorized possession of an offensive weapon in violation of Iowa Code section 724.3 (1995). He contends that certain items that he possessed, if assembled, did not constitute an…”
State v. Muhlenbruch, 728 N.W.2d 212 (Iowa 2007). · cites it 2× “The State charged the defendant with three separate crimes under Iowa Code section 724.3, a statute which prohibited knowing “possession] of an offensive weapon.”
State v. Pilcher, 242 N.W.2d 348 (Iowa 1976). · cites it 2× “The State could also be forced to come up with a compelling interest in prohibiting keeping a house of ill fame (§ 724.3, The Code), regulating massage parlors, prohibiting adultery (§ 702.”
State v. Lewis, 514 N.W.2d 63 (Iowa 1994). · cites it 2× “See Iowa Code § 724.3 . At his jury trial, Lewis moved for judgment of acquittal at the close of the State’s ease and again after the presentation of all the evidence.”
State v. Massey, 275 N.W.2d 436 (Iowa 1979). · cites it 3× “We granted further review of a decision of the Court of Appeals affirming defendant Ronald Arthur Massey’s conviction by jury and sentence for keeping a house of ill fame in violation of § 724.3, The Code, 1977. He contends the trial court erred in ruling on evidence and in…”
Nichol v. State, 309 N.W.2d 468 (Iowa 1981). · cites it 2× “He was convicted of keeping a house of ill fame in violation of section 724.3, The Code 1977. The Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction by per curiam opinion, and we denied further review.”
— Iowa Code § 724.3(2) — 1 case
In re the Marriage of Mosley (Iowa Ct. App. 2021).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.