The Sons of Guns weapons experts ran a booming business in Louisiana until serious legal scandals rocked the family business.
As Will Hayden and crew ran operations of Red Jacket Firearms, the Discovery Channel followed their custom gun crafting for five seasons from 2011 to 2014, until Hayden was charged with multiple counts of rape.
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Following his arrest, two other cast members of the reality series ended up in handcuffs. But where is the five-person ensemble now? Catch up on the lives of the Sons of Guns cast, both behind bars and in the weapons world.
Will Hayden
Hayden is serving three life sentences in prison after he was found guilty in April on two counts of aggravated rape and one count of forcible rape. The charges stem from his attack on two young girls, one in the 1990s and one in 2013 and 2014, when the victims were around the ages of 12 or 13.
He has since pleaded to two more rape charges, including aggravated rape and aggravated incest.
The former Suns of Guns leader has no possibility of parole, so he will spend the rest of his life in jail. He is currently 52 years old.
Stephanie Hayden and Kris Ford
Hayden’s daughter Stephanie and her husband were also arrested in 2014. Stephanie’s then nine-year-old son’s father, William Scott, accused Kris of hitting the boy with a belt while the mother watched. Following the accusation, Kris was arrested on a count of cruelty to juveniles, while Stephanie was charged for being a principal to cruelty to juveniles.
In addition to her own arrest, Stephanie claimed to Dr. Phil in 2014 that her father, Hayden, touched her inappropriately when she was 12. The charge of aggravated incest against Hayden is speculated to have stemmed from Stephanie’s accusations. She said on the show that her father came into her bedroom one night while intoxicated, pinched, grabbed and kissed her while trying to take off her shirt. The daughter said she was able to escape Hayden that night and he never touched her inappropriately again.
Following the public scandals, Stephanie and her husband have remained out of the spotlight, and little is known about their current lives.
Joe Meaux
Meaux, a former co-owner of Red Jacket Firearms, has attempted to distance himself from the Haydens’ scandals by opening two new businesses near their old store. He started gun retail shop Meaux Guns and gun manufacturing site Aklys Defense to rebound from the off-screen events.
“It was a drama-infused environment,” Meaux recalled filming Sons of Guns to The Times-Picayune in 2015. “Being about to get away from that… it’s been a lot less stress.”
Charlie Watson
According to Watson’s social media, he continues to work with Meaux at Aklys Defense.
Photo credit: Discovery Channel
