Cedric Taggart said it hurt to hear his brother's voice.
Saturday night the Pine Bluff Commercial released Maurice Taggart: The Final Say, which consisted of voice recordings and text messages from Maurice. In those recordings, Maurice expressed his feelings about Go Forward Pine Bluff and the Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Agency declaring his innocence and stating he had information on others involved -- information that he said he would reveal at some point.
"I love my brother, so to hear that coming from basically the grave, it's like he knew someone wanted to get rid of him," said Cedric, 42.
Cedric said growing up with Maurice, people thought they were twins because not only were they close in age -- Cedric is a year younger -- but their mom, Nina Taggart, dressed them in the same clothes.
"He would give you the shirt off his back and help anybody he could," said Cedric. "We looked alike. He was smart. He could pass a test without studying for it."
Stepdad Timothy Armstrong, who raised Maurice from 9 months old, said Maurice was a smart child but he was also a "busybody."
"Growing up he was always on the move, trying to find a better way out ... very articulate," said Cedric. "Maurice was strict. Our father was really strict with us so it taught him how to be strict."
Cedric said Maurice was destined for more. He always talked about being an attorney, and anything Maurice put his mind to he did. Maurice did become an attorney, as he said he would, and before having a child he said he would name his son Justice.
Because of the love both Cedric and Armstrong knew Maurice had for Justice, they couldn't comprehend the report that was put out by the Pine Bluff Police insinuating Maurice shot Justice.
According to the Pine Bluff Police Department, officers went to 1 Hillcroft St. a little after 2 a.m. on Aug. 30 because of a shooting. When they arrived, they found that two men had been shot, 43-year-old Maurice Taggart and his son, 26-year-old Justice Taggart. Both were taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center where Maurice Taggart died from his injuries.
According to witnesses, the homicide began as a domestic disturbance, police said.
"During the altercation both Taggarts fought over a pistol resulting in them shooting each other," Lt. David DeFoor stated in a news release sent later that morning.
The police report on the incident from Officer John Woods said that when he arrived at the Taggart house, he spoke to Shawndra Taggart, who is the Jefferson County clerk. Woods said she told him that her husband had gotten into a fight with her son and that her husband had shot her son.
"Maurice loved Justice. That's too much to even think about him trying to kill his son," said Cedric. "The only thing Maurice would have done if anything at the magnitude is that Maurice would have fought his son but he would have never pulled the gun on his son."
Cedric, who lives in Minnesota but has now relocated to Arkansas until "justice is served" for his brother, said he spent several days analyzing the 911 tapes of the incident, released shortly after the incident by The Commercial, because he didn't believe his brother's death was motivated by a domestic disturbance but instead was murder.
"Anyone who listened to those 911 recordings, there was a lot of things that I knew were wrong," said Cedric. Cedric said several things stood out from that 911 tape. According to Cedric, when Justice's girlfriend Shatia Johnson, who made one of the 911 calls, said "he's bleeding from the mouth," she was not talking about Justice, who was struck in the shoulder, but was instead talking about Maurice.
"The day Maurice was shot and killed and the report the police put out, it was just all a lie," Cedric said.
Cedric called the entire investigation "messy" and said he did not believe the original report put out by the Pine Bluff Police Department.
Armstrong, his voice sounding tired as he reflected on the moments he shared with his son Maurice, said he felt the same way.
"What's going to happen here is everyone involved is about to get caught up," said Armstrong, who said he is also a church deacon and has lost his confidence in the Pine Bluff Police Department.
Armstrong shared that once the charges were filed against Maurice, Maurice spent every day and night with him at his home.
"He was here every day telling me all those folks that were involved ... he was finna tear them up," said Armstrong.
Armstrong said that, even though Maurice was with him every day, the week of his son's death, he didn't see Maurice.
"He was at my house every day when that money stuff was going on so I watched him," said Armstrong. "I saw death but I didn't know it was going to be him."
Maurice and a man living in Texas were charged in June with taking close to $700,000 from the Urban Renewal agency. Authorities believe the two men conspired to submit bogus invoices to Urban Renewal for asbestos abatement and demolition work on houses.
Cedric said he and Maurice were close and though his brother was not perfect, he knew he had flaws that he was trying to correct.
"Maurice had a heart change and what that meant is he didn't want to go along with the get along," said Cedric. Cedric recalled a conversation he had with Maurice several years ago in which he warned Maurice to stay focused and not get caught up in the political mess.
"He wouldn't tell me everything but he would say I've done some things wrong that I have to get right," said Cedric. "I could sense he had some things that he wanted to change."
Cedric said he reminded Maurice of the downfall of other political officials in Pine Bluff. Maurice would often reference a book called The 48 Laws of Power, according to Cedric, which Maurice described as how the "powers to be" were operating Pine Bluff because that was the book he was instructed to read.
"One of his last posts on his Facebook page he talks about the 48 Laws of Power," said Cedric.
On Aug 28, two days before Maurice was killed, Maurice posted the following:
"The 48 Laws of Power is an interesting read, however, not for the faint at heart. While it is viewed by some as controversial, it provides the reader an insight into the minds and hearts of those who live and operate by its teaching."
"I kept telling Maurice don't trust those Go Forward people because they will make you feel like you're powerful," said Cedric, referring to Go Forward Pine Bluff. "It's almost like he could tell something was changing. I told Maurice don't change, don't let it get to your head because these people will turn their back on you."
Even though these are two separate events concerning Taggert -- the investigation of his death by the Pine Bluff Police Department and the investigation into the missing money by the Arkansas State Police -- Cedric said he believes the two are connected and wants the FBI to get involved.
"I would love for the FBI and any top lawyer that understands and has love in their heart to look into this case," said Cedric. "It's so sloppy. You can easily see that it was a lot of defaults and it's a lot of lying. I don't trust locally and I know the FBI will dot every I and cross every T."
Armstrong said the ordeal has been hard on the entire family, especially the siblings. Armstrong said all he wants is the truth. Maurice's mom Nina Taggart also wants the truth.
A copy of Maurice's death certificate that Nina supplied to The Commercial says the cause of death was: "gunshot wounds of back and right upper arm; manner of death, homicide," and it describes how the injury occurred: "subject was shot two times by another." The information confirms details published by The Commercial in an Oct. 1 story.
"I just want to know the truth," said Nina.
"He was shot in the back so that tells me a lot right there," said Armstrong. "I think it was a setup."
Cedric said Maurice has left the family with pieces to a puzzle and Cedric said he will not rest until all of the pieces are put together.
According to Cedric, a press conference will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse as members of the family will advocate for justice for Maurice and call on the FBI to intervene.
Armstrong said Maurice shared things with him and while he didn't name names he would refer to them as "Go Forward."
"He told me, 'Daddy, they think they gonna send me to the penitentiary, but I'm finna get all of them,'" said Armstrong, who said Maurice also expressed a fear of retaliation. "He shared with me, 'Well, Dad, if I win this case here, I'm going to go on and just be a dentist, but I'm going to get them people that call themselves going to get me.'"
Armstrong said what Maurice meant by that was that he was going to tell everything but "I didn't know what that telling was going to be."
One thing Maurice did tell Armstrong was that he was innocent and he was going to win his case.
"Maurice told me he didn't do it," said Armstrong. "He knew who did it and kept it all in his head and he died with it."
Cedric said no matter the negative picture that others try to paint of his brother, Maurice was trying to get his life back together, even spending several hours on the last day he was alive with his pastor. Cedric said he knows God is putting everything together and the truth will eventually come to light.
As for Armstrong, he is counting down the days when justice will be served.
"I'm 73 years old and I can't really rest. All I'm waiting on is for them to get the right person(s) because it's too much going on," said Armstrong. "I can't figure it out but it bothers me every day. I can't rest behind this. I woke up one day and it was said Maurice was dead and from then on until right today, my mind is gone."