Sex offender who stole Joyland’s Louie the Clown loses appeal to keep antique organ
The convicted sex offender who pleaded no contest to stealing Louie the Clown from Joyland has lost an appeal to keep the antique organ that the iconic animatronic “played” for more than half a century before going missing.
The Kansas Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Damian Mayes must return the instrument — a Wurlitzer-style 160 “Mammoth” Military Band organ built in 1901 — because he concealed his role in the clown’s disappearance when entering into a contract to buy the organ in 2010.
Former Joyland owner Margaret Nelson Spear never would have sold Mayes the organ if he had admitted to stealing Louie, Nelson family attorney J. Greg Kite argued in court. Mayes denied having any knowledge of the clown’s whereabouts before inking the contract.
The decision upholds a 2020 district court ruling that found Mayes had “unclean hands,” a legal term that means one party deceived the other when entering into a contract.
Mayes, 47, tended to both Louie the Clown and the organ when he was a Joyland employee before the park closed in 2004. He was already in prison for convictions in a Harvey County child sex crime when Wichita police found the clown in his home in 2015.
Mayes was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for theft of the mannequin, which had been missing from the park since 2005 or 2006.
Nelson, who now lives in an assisted living center, had agreed in 2010 to sell the organ to Mayes for $39,000. He made a $30,000 down payment but the rest of the money never made it to the Nelson family.
Mayes, who is eligible for parole in 2028, asked the court to allow him to pay the outstanding $9,000 and keep the organ. The three-judge appellate panel instead ordered that the organ be returned to the Nelsons and that the family reimburse Mayes his $30,000.
Michael P. Whalen, an attorney representing Mayes, did not respond to a request to comment.
Kite told The Eagle it was “a relief for the Nelson family” to end the six-year saga of litigation over the Joyland memorabilia, including the 8-foot by 20-foot organ, which stands 10 feet tall and is designed to produce trumpet, flute, drum, xylophone and glockenspiel sounds. It is believed to be the largest model organ Wurlitzer made and one of only a few left in the world.
So what comes next for Louie after he’s reunited with his beloved instrument? No word yet, Kite said.
“The plan of the Nelson family is to make sure that both ‘Louie the Clown’ and the Joyland Wurlitzer Organ remain an important part of Wichita’s history and heritage, which the community can see, hear and enjoy,” Kite said.
Contributing: Denise Neil of The Eagle
This story was originally published September 8, 2022 at 4:53 AM.