WILKES-BARRE, Pa. -- Two men accused in the death of a popular local DJ have both been convicted of first-degree murder.
Roberto Battle and David Nealy are the two men charged with killing Michael Onley in 2013.
Onley was a community activist and DJ known as DJ Mo.
"Y'all know him as DJ Mo, but he's my baby, my first born, and he had the nickname of Mike Mike. And as he got older, he's like, 'Mom, don't you think you can call me Mike instead of Mike Mike?' So, he's my heart. He's always going to be my heart," said Onley's mother Najada Pilgrim.
DJ Mo hosted a popular radio show on Wilkes University's radio station. He was also an advocate of anti-gun violence. He organized marches and rallies in the Wilkes-Barre area after losing his own brother in a shooting.
"I think this is the beginning to the end. Nothing will ever take Mike's memory away from me or from us, but this is a start. This is a start," said Pilgrim.
It took five years to get to this day, but it took a jury in Luzerne County less than two hours to find both Battle and Nealy guilty of first-degree murder.
"You see how I'm shaking. I'm shaking. I was shaking then. I'm shaking now. I'm still trying to process it, but yes. I feel very, very good," Pilgrim said.
This all began in October 2013. That's when investigators say Battle and Nealy were thrown out of Outsiders Bar on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre. Angry, police say the two came back later, and Battle fired a gun into a crowd of people outside, shooting Onley in the head and killing him. Nealy is accused of driving the getaway car.
Cops say Onley wasn't targeted, just the innocent victim of two men's violent rage.
"This case was five years in the making. Today, we achieved justice for DJ Mo Michael Onley and his family with both defendants being convicted of first-degree murder," said Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Jarrett Ferentino.
Nealy took the stand during the trial in hopes of getting a lesser conviction even though his attorney advised him not to.
"I was advising him all along not to do it, but ultimately, it's his decision to testify, and he insisted he wanted to tell his story," said Tom Sundmaker, Nealy's attorney.
Prosecutors are happy this five-year journey is finally coming to an end.
"Nothing can bring Michael back. We said in the courtroom it's too late to save him, but it's not too late for justice and to make the people atone for what they've done and hold them accountable," Ferentino said.