Police arrested a 42-year-old woman March 4 after she allegedly disrobed in the Carmel Clay Public Library and walked around naked while under the influence of marijuana.
According to a probable cause affidavit, a library employee told police that the woman, identified as Carmel resident Gwyn Cornell, stood on a bench as she took off all of her clothes and then began walking through the facility. The incident happened at approximately 6 p.m. on the second floor of the library at 425 E. Main St.
Another employee told police that she advised Cornell that she needed to be clothed and that Cornell responded by saying, “Oh, really,” before walking to a computer station to look something up, the affidavit states. The employee said Cornell began talking to a man near the computer, which is when the incident was reported to the Carmel Police Department.
A library patron told investigators he was sitting at a table when a nude woman approached him and grabbed his anatomy book, went to a computer to look something up and then returned the book before leaving the area, the affidavit states.
When police arrived, they found Cornell sitting alone on a bench with a vape pen smelling of marijuana on a nearby table, according to the affidavit. A field test confirmed material in the vape pen to contain THC at levels greater than .3 percent.
The affidavit states that while transporting Cornell to the Hamilton County Jail, “she uttered that she had been smoking weed and running around the library naked.”
CCPL Communications Manager Christy Walker said police responded swiftly to remove the woman from the premises and that normal library operations resumed with no further incidents.
Cornell was charged with public nudity, possession of hash oil and possession of marijuana, all misdemeanors. An initial hearing is set for March 11.
