A 56-year-old Sutton mother of three was arrested outside of Plymouth Superior Court on Tuesday after she was allegedly caught taking video of jurors emerging from the Lindsay Clancy murder trial.
Her case – one her attorney called an unintentional misunderstanding – has gone viral because of the media swarm outside waiting for a verdict in the high-profile trial.
The retired nurse was swarmed by reporters as she left her arraignment on Wednesday.
Dawn Light was spotted by a court officer in a restricted area of the parking lot on Obery Street. Her car was backed into the remotest parking space, State Trooper Abigail Robinson wrote in her report.
Light denied recording any jurors and said she was just hoping to catch a glimpse of Clancy, on trial in the deaths of her three children leaving the courthouse.
She agreed to show the trooper her phone. There were no pictures or videos of jurors.
But when the trooper asked to see her recently deleted photos and videos, she saw a video of people walking out of the building.
A court officer identified the people as the jurors in the high-profile case. Light claimed she didn’t know she had filmed the jurors, the report said.
“I really didn’t see a sign that said employees only,” Light reported told the trooper. “It wouldn’t have stopped me.”
At her arraignment on Wednesday, Light’s attorney Jennifer White described her client’s actions as an innocent attempt to shoot a photograph of the defendant, not jurors.
“This is a complete misunderstanding, your honor,” White said, according to media reports. “My client was seeking a picture of Ms. Clancy and had no interaction with the jurors.”
Light was released on her own recognizance.
She is facing charges of aggravated intimidation of a witness/juror/police/court official. Though the police report calls it a misdemeanor, state law describes the charge as a serious felony.
There has been intense, heightened security at the courthouse and the parking lot since the sensational murder trial has been underway.
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.