HINDS COUNTY, Miss. -- Prosecutors said they got a key conviction in a witness tampering case in Hinds County.

Paul Moore was found guilty and the district attorney's office said this case will play a key role in the homicide case of a Jackson, Miss., police officer in 1995.

After less than an hour of deliberation, the jury found Moore guilty of witness intimidation.

"Intimidating a witness before a pending trial is very serious and the system can not work effectively without having our witnesses freely and voluntarily come forward to testify," Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith said.

Harold Hackett was that witness. According to investigators, he has been a key witness in the 1995 slaying of Officer R.J. Washington.

Moore's brother, Sharrod Moore, is accused of killing Washington.

According to the district attorney's office, Paul threatened Hackett's life earlier this year.

Prosecutors said Paul Moore went after Hackett for giving detectives information that put his brother, Sharrod Moore behind bars. Sharrod Moore is currently awaiting trial.

Shuler Smith said Paul Moore and Hackett have been a problem in getting witnesses to come forward in past cases.

"They have a pattern of intimidating and killing witnesses and they have been successful for the most part in some of their cases, because witnesses who want to come forward are scared for their lives," Shuler Smith.

In November, both Paul Moore and Hackett stand trial 2003 death of Howard Banyard.

Paul Moore is in custody at the Hinds County Detention Center. Hackett is out on bond.