DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court says a stun gun, under Iowa law, is a dangerous weapon. The court made the conclusion as it affirmed the conviction of a woman charged with carrying a dangerous weapon after police found a stun gun in her purse in 2013 during an arrest for theft at a Waterloo Walmart.

Taquala Howse, who is 25, appealed saying her small hand-held stun gun isn’t dangerous. A district judge convicted Howse, finding the state had proven it was dangerous. The Iowa Court of Appeals last year concluded since the device didn’t work when police tested it and it couldn’t immobilize anyone, it wasn’t dangerous.

The Supreme Court reversed the decision saying stun guns fall under the Iowa code’s definition of a dangerous weapon even if it’s inoperable.