A closer look at the police search of Stanley Marsh 3’s office

With little fanfare last week, the Amarillo Globe-News posted online more than 350 photographs taken by police during a November 2012 search of Stanley Marsh 3’s 12th-floor office in downtown Amarillo.

Police searched the office in the wake of sexual-abuse allegations by teenage boys against Marsh, the owner of Route 66’s famous Cadillac Ranch art installation in Amarillo. Items collected from the search presumably led to Marsh’s indictment by a grand jury on 11 counts of child sex abuse and other felony charges. Marsh died at age 76 last year before he was brought to trial.

The story accompanying last week’s release of the photos added little context to what was known, and the photos contained no captions. So I had my wife, Emily Priddy, a crime reporter at a newspaper, examine the photos. What we found — along with the inventory of what was collected in the search warrant — provided additional insight on why Marsh might have been charged.

Here’s what was found in the police search:

— More than 21,000 pills of sildenafil, better known as generic Viagra, a medication used primarily to treat sexual impotence in men that also has been used recreationally. Many of the blue pills came with invoices and were stuffed inside manila envelopes indicating they had been shipped from India. The main ingredient in Viagra should not be taken more than once a day. At that rate, it would taken a person more than 57 years to use Marsh’s supply.

— More than 250 yellow tablets that turned out to be tadalafil, the generic name for Cialis, another drug used to treat sexual impotence in men.

— Three black rings — described as rubber “sex rings” — in a desk drawer.

— Four Wal-Mart pharmacy bottles (with the text partly redacted in the photos), an American Bar Association membership card (partly redacted), one patient sample packet of Hismanal — a nonsedating antihistamine taken off the market in 1999 — and a packet of a floral preservative called Aquaplus. (A police source checked into Aquaplus and said he was unaware of illicit uses for the product. Strangely enough, small amounts of Viagra also can act as a floral preservative.)

— Stains on cushions from a dark green couch and bedding from a mattress glowing under a blacklight. Police use the light to look for bodily fluids in the fabric, and police used evidence-pointers to indicate certain stains in the fabric.

— Several cigarette butts next to the mattress.

— A cluttered desk in front of the couch that included a container of Wet Ones; a jar of petroleum jelly; a box of tissues; and a large bottle of Biotene, a type of mouthwash designed to treat dry mouth, which according to several websites can be a side effect of sildenafil use.

— Serial numbers for several computers.

— Two documents bearing the header “DYNAMITE MUSEUM FOREVER LIST.” The lists were redacted in the photo, and their significance was not clear.

— A hold-harmless waiver agreement for Marsh’s visitors and employees. The search inventory said 11 of the blank documents were found, along with a file of signed agreements.

— Not shown in the photos but noted in the evidence report were four photographs of white males, including one who was nude.

The photographs also revealed some of Marsh’s life and his notorious eccentric side:

— A room full of beanbag chairs that resembled billiard balls.

— Hallways and rooms full of abstract art, including a painting of a man — possibly Marsh — reclining on a couch similar to the aforementioned green couch.

— Nine ballpeen hammers with writing on the handles, lined up on a wall behind a computer desk.

— A biohazard bag.

— Several framed portraits of a woman resembling Marsh’s wife, Wendy.

— A computer connected to a large, wall-mounted monitor showing what appears to be an image from a surveillance camera.

— A Route 66-themed cushion.

— A sock monkey.

— Four toy monkeys in packaging identifying them as Chuckle Buddies, a type of battery-operated, motion-activated device that laughs and rolls around.

— Several small models of signs from Marsh’s Dynamite Museum art installation.

— A shopping bag bearing the words “Toad Hall,” the common name for Marsh’s estate.

— A jar candle bearing what appears to be an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

(An image from Amarillo police search of Stanley Marsh 3’s office)