GUILTY: Philip and Alan Moran convicted for bribery and conspiracy

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (WLOX) — After three days of testimony, a Hancock County jury found both Philip and Alan Moran guilty of bribery and conspiracy Friday.

Jurors deliberated for a little more than an hour before returning the verdict.

Leading up to the deliberation, jurors heard from Philip Moran.

PHILIP MORAN TESTIFIES

Defense attorney Tracy Klein called his client Philip Moran to the stand. The former state senator told jurors, the $30,000 in cash was for his dream classic car: a 1972 Oldsmobile 442 Cutlass.

Klein introduced into evidence messages between Philip Moran and a Georgia man that listed the Oldsmobile for sale. The conversations began on Nov. 17, 2024.

The next day, on Nov. 18, Philip Moran went to Keesler Federal Credit Union in Diamondhead to take out a $30,000 loan against his certificate of deposits.

Philip Moran had no idea about the affidavit signed by his son’s stalking victim the same day as the loan cashout, he told jurors.

On Nov. 21, 2024, Philip Moran said he and a friend traveled to Georgia to look at the classic car. It had some issues that the car owner promised to fix, Moran told the jury, so when he returned to Hancock County without the Cutlass, he put the $30,000 in his safe so he could have the money ready in case the classic car was ready to purchase.

Philip Moran had no idea his son used some of the cash in a scheme with co-defendant Jeremy Billings to try to convince Alan Moran’s stalking victim to drop the charge, he testified, and he didn’t learn about it until Dec. 9, 2024, when the younger Moran turned himself in to Waveland Police Department for the stalking warrant.

Phone call logs show Philip Moran and Jeremy Billings began calling each other that same day.

“Did you discuss bribery [with Billings]?” Klein asked.

“Absolutely not,” Philip Moran replied.

He never heard about the thousands of dollars in cash given to Billings by Alan Moran until days after the stalking victim was asked to drop the charge, Philip Moran testified.

Philip Moran said he was not happy when he found out that some of the money that was supposed to purchase a classic car was given to Jeremy Billings.

PROSECUTORS QUESTION PHILIP MORAN

Prosecutors asked Philip Moran about the stalking victim. We are identifying the teen Lowe’s employee by his initials S.M.

“The first time I ever laid eyes on [S.M.] was when he came into this courtroom,” Philip Moran testified.

But prosecutor Matthew Burrell pointed to the family friend that Philip Moran contacted the day Alan Moran was arrested.

The family friend testified that Philip Moran sent him a photo of S.M. on Dec. 9, 2024.

That means, prosecutors later told jurors, Philip Moran was more involved in the alleged bribery scheme than he admitted, and also referenced jail phone call recordings where investigators believed the father and son were talking in code about the bribery.

WAVELAND’S INVESTIGATION

Before jurors heard from the elder Moran, Waveland Assistant Police Chief Eddie Hursey testified. He was the lead investigator on both the bribery case and the stalking incident.

Hursey detailed how his investigation unraveled the identities of Jeremy Billings and Ian Shexnayder after the stalking victim filed a report with Waveland PD, and how phone call records tied the two young men with the Morans.

WHAT’S NEXT

Sentencing is set for Thursday, June 18. Both Philip and Alan Moran were taken back into custody by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office.

The crimes of bribery and conspiracy are class one felonies that each carry a maximum prison sentence of five years and a maximum fine of $5,000.

Assistant District Attorney Chris Daniel prosecuted the case with Matthew Burrell.

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