Ex-MS Coast councilman loses latest attempt to avoid prison for sex crime
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge denied Alan Moran’s final request to reinstate probation in sex case.
- Moran remains in prison after indictment on bribery and conspiracy charges.
- Prosecutors argued revocation did not require a conviction on new accusations.
A Hancock County judge on Monday rejected former Diamondhead councilman Alan Moran’s latest attempt to get out of prison after violating his probation on a child exploitation conviction.
Circuit Judge Christopher Schmidt’s ruling means Moran, 37, will continue serving the 12-year prison sentence imposed in June, when the judge revoked his probation. Schmidt made that decision after a Hancock County grand jury indicted Moran and three others on felony charges of bribery and conspiracy.
Moran, his attorney Donald Rafferty, and prosecutors Matthew Burrell and Chris Daniel returned to court Monday for Rafferty’s bid to have Moran’s probation reinstated.
Rafferty argued that his client “didn’t get a fair shot at his revocation hearing” in June because key evidence from the new bribery case wasn’t turned over in time for Moran to mount a defense.
Rafferty also claimed Moran could prove he had no role in the bribery scheme if given the chance. He noted that investigators had brought in the FBI to review financial records that showed a large bank withdrawal, but he suggested the withdrawal could be explained by Moran’s personal transactions, such as the purchase of a new truck.
Burrell said Rafferty’s arguments didn’t apply to a revocation proceeding, according to the rules of criminal procedure.
In addition, Burrell said Rafferty had not filed a notice to the court of his intent to represent Moran in the bribery case until August, though the new indictment was handed down May 30. A Hancock County grand jury indicted Moran along with his father, former State Sen. Philip Moran, Jeremy Billings, of Diamondhead, and Ian Schexnayder, of Pearlington, on bribery and conspiracy charges in a scheme to cover up a previous crime Alan Moran committed.
The prosecutors have said repeatedly that the state is not required to try and convict Moran of the new charges before his probation is revoked on an earlier conviction.
“States are not required to meet the burden of proof ... beyond a reasonable doubt” and delay a revocation against an offender until after a conviction, Daniel said.
Moran has been in custody since his probation was revoked earlier this year following his arrest on a misdemeanor stalking charge. A Waveland judge later convicted him of stalking, a conviction Moran is now appealing.
Moran’s legal troubles began after his Valentine’s Day 2022 arrest, when police accused him of luring a 17-year-old boy for sex and buying the teen a beer.
The teen’s mother, Raychel Dykes, and her husband, Russell, attended Moran’s June revocation hearing. Russell said he hoped the judge would order Moran to serve the maximum 15-year sentence for child exploitation.
“I feel great,” Raychel said afterward. “This is a big deal for our community. It’s essentially a sex offender not roaming our streets, messing with our children.”
The bribery case centers on allegations that Moran and others offered a stalking victim in Waveland $20,000 to drop his complaint against Moran. The victim refused the money and reported the attempt to police, triggering a new criminal investigation involving Moran and his father.
