Former South MS senator violated house arrest to attend fish fries, DA says
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- DA asks judge to revoke Philip Moran’s $75,000 bond for house arrest breaches.
- Prosecutors allege Moran attended church fish fries and went grocery shopping.
- Hearing set March 6 in Biloxi as bribery and conspiracy trial looms June 8.
Former state Sen. Philip Moran should have his bond revoked and go to jail pending trial for bribery because he has violated the terms of a $75,000 bond, the District Attorney’s Office for Hancock County says.
Moran is supposed to be under house arrest, terms set by in January by Circuit Judge Christopher Schmidt. Instead, he twice attended fish fries on two successive Fridays in February, lingering for almost two hours on Feb. 20 and 50 minutes on Feb. 27, according to a motion to revoke his bond filed Monday by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Burrell.
Also on Feb. 27, the motion says, Moran went grocery shopping at a dollar store. Under orders from Schmidt on Feb. 13, Moran was supposed to leave his house only for work or to consult with his attorney before trial.
Prosecutors allege Moran, his son Alan Moran and two others attempted to bribe a stalking victim of Alan Moran’s with $20,000 in exchange for dropping the misdemeanor charge. In addition to stalking, Alan Moran is serving 12 years in prison for violating probation in a separate case of child exploitation.
Morans scheduled for bribery trial
The Morans are scheduled to stand trial June 8 on the bribery and conspiracy charges. The former Republican senator lost his bid for re-election in the August 2023 primaries. Alan Moran, a former Diamondhead City Council member, was arrested in March 2022 on the child sex crime charge.
At the time, the son was manager of his father’s company, Philip’s Pest Control Co. LLC.
Philip Moran has already gotten in trouble once over the terms of his release pending trial. His original bond was $35,000, but Schmidt added the $75,000 bond and house arrest conditions Jan. 28, after Moran allegedly threatened to kill whoever was trying to “put him in prison.”
A hearing on the district attorney’s request to revoke Philip Moran’s bond will be held at 9 a.m. Thursday in Circuit Court in Biloxi.
Moran filed a motion Feb. 23, before the district attorney’s request to revoke bond, asking that his bond be amended so that he could take an infirm neighbor, a Korean War veteran, grocery shopping and provide the neighbor other assistance.
Staff Writer Margaret Baker contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 2, 2026 at 2:41 PM.
