Wanted Westport man held on bail after allegedly fleeing from police

A wanted local man was arrested over the weekend after allegedly fleeing from police.

According to police, on Saturday, at approximately 3:00 p.m., Field Training Officer Michael Chicca and Officer Justin DeSilva were patrolling the area of State Road (Route 6) when they observed a grey GMC Sierra entering State Road west from Pine Tree Avenue. The vehicle was known to be operated by Darren Moran of Westport. Officers Chicca and DeSilva knew Moran to have a suspended license and 3 active warrants out of New Bedford District Court. One of the warrants was for the arrest of Moran after having escaped from court on Tuesday, February 25, 2025.

Officer DeSilva activated the cruiser’s emergency lights to conduct a motor vehicle stop. Once Moran noticed the lights, he immediately made a U-Turn and began driving east on State Road in an attempt to flee. Officer DeSilva activated his cruiser’s siren while following Moran as he turned right onto Glenwood Avenue. Moran circled around the parking lot of a liquor store before pulling back onto State Road after running a stop sign. For a short while, Moran drove west in the eastbound lane before driving over the median and returning to the westbound lane of travel.

Officer Jean Lopez heard the radio transmission and had been heading east on State Road to assist. When Moran observed the second cruiser in the area, he pulled into the parking lot of Westport Tire located at 718 State Road and fled from his vehicle into the woods.

The Westport Police Drone Unit and the Massachusetts State Police K-9 Unit responded to the scene in an attempt to locate Moran. Lieutenant Bryan McCarthy, along with Sergeants Ryan Nickelson, Jarrod Levesque and Detective Luis Vertentes searched the property on State Road where Moran resided, after discovering his apartment door was open. Although they initially did not find him inside, they checked a shed in the backyard, where they located Moran standing. Officers ordered him to the ground where he was taken into custody without further incident and transported to the Westport Police Station for booking.

Moran pled not guilty at Monday’s arraignment and was being held on $750 cash bail.

His next scheduled court appearance is a pretrial hearing on April 2nd.