South MS judge convicts ex-councilman Alan Moran of stalking 19 year old
Waveland Municipal Judge P.J. Mauffray on Thursday found former Mississippi Coast Councilman Alan Joseph Moran guilty of misdemeanor stalking of a 19-year-old male employee at Lowe’s.
The judge sentenced Moran to 90 days for the misdemeanor offense. The sentence runs concurrently with the time he is already serving or for a probation violation. In addition, the judge fined him $250. Moran is currently set for release on June 6.
Moran, in a black jail jumpsuit, shook his head back and forth in disagreement after the judge entered the ruling. His attorney, Donald Rafferty, said he plans to appeal the conviction.
At the trial, the teen testified that on Nov. 3, 2024, Moran followed him around inside the store and made sexually suggestive comments to him about making money off of women he worked with through sex.
During the course of the investigation, the teen told investigators Moran made him feel so uncomfortable that he left the area he was working in at one point and went to work near a head cashier in the front of the store to get away from Moran.
At the time, a police report said Moran identified himself as a local contractor who had just finished a job in Old Town in Bay St. Louis.
When the teen got off work, he said Moran was outside in his truck, followed him around, rolled down both of his windows at different times, and offered the teen up to $20, presumably for sex.
“I was scared,” he said. “I didn’t expect a man to follow me out to the parking lot.”
The teen said he immediately went to his car, got in, and drove in the opposite direction of Moran when he left.
Prosecutor applauds teen victim’s courage
City prosecutor Damian Holcomb said the evidence clearly showed that Moran had stalked the young man both inside and outside the store.
“The judge today was able to listen to several witnesses, including that of the victim,” Holcomb said after the ruling. “During that testimony, he consistently disclosed his fear of the defendant.
“The victim showed amazing courage in participating with the investigation and telling the judge what this defendant did to him. The prompt response and investigation by the Waveland Police Department led to this defendant being held accountable for these acts. We hope the justice delivered today helps the victim in his healing.”
Moran has been jailed in Hancock County, serving a sentence for violating his probation in another case as a result of his stalking arrest.
That case is related to his misdemeanor conviction of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for buying beer for a teen on Valentine’s Day, 2022. In the same case, he is convicted of child exploitation for enticing a teen to come to him for sex.
‘What if a random man approached you?’
Moran’s attorney, Donald Rafferty, made various arguments against a conviction and pointed out that even if Moran offered the teen $20 after he got off work, he didn’t actually use the word sex in exchange for the money.
“He was offering me money,” the teen fired back. “I have a random man approaching me. What if a random man approached you?”
The teen said he found out who Moran was from his manager at the store and researched online to learn about the former Diamondhead councilman and son of former State Senator Philip Moran.
In addition, Rafferty tried to poke holes in the case because of inconsistencies in the initial complaint and the criminal affidavit filed in the stalking case. Rafferty also questioned the victim’s credibility, pointing out the District Attorney’s Office allowed the victim to plead guilty to a unrelated, misdemeanor charge of burglary The original charge was a felony offense.
But two Waveland police officers, including Chief Investigator Eddie Hursey, clarified questions about how they determined the charge to file against Moran based on the teen’s allegations
The stalking conviction Thursday is the third conviction for Moran for a criminal offense in Mississippi.
Moran is a registered sex offender convicted of child exploitation and a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in another case.
Since Moran’s arrest in the stalking case, two others have been arrested for attempting to bribe the victim with thousands of dollars in cash in exchange for the victim dropping the charges. Instead, the teen who testified Thursday reported what had happened to Waveland police, resulting in the arrests of two men on felony bribery charges.
Blaming a child exploitation victim for bribery?
During Thursday’s trial, the defense attorney subpoenaed one of the bribery suspects, Jeremy Cole Billings, 23, of Diamondhead, to testify on Thursday, but the teen declined to answer, citing his right not to do so on the advice of his counsel.
Rafferty also called the father of the child exploitation victim to testify. During that testimony, he showed the father a piece of paper with a copy of text messages purportedly between the father’s son, the first victim of Moran, and Billings, suggesting that the victim was involved in the bribery scheme.
The teen’s father said the number at the top of the page with text messages appeared to be his son’s phone number. However, the young man’s parents later denounced the allegations, citing similar tactics used against their son during his criminal case involving Moran.
In addition, the Waveland municipal judge pointed out that the copy of text messages did not include a timestamp or other information to summarily verify the information.
This story was originally published April 24, 2025 at 2:36 PM.
