Dec 18, 2014.. Former “Sons of Guns” reality TV star Will Hayden was charged Wednesday by an East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury with raping two preteen ..
Sons of Guns
Jan 9, 2015.. Will Hayden, the former Discovery Channel star who portrayed a gun shop owner on the hit series “Sons of Guns,” had his lawyer take a ..
When the growth of your business is built on a popular TV show and one of the stars of that TV show gets arrested on charges related to the alleged rape of children, business is going to be affected. Joe Meaux, one of the owners of Baton Rouge-based Red Jacket Firearms and former co-star of Discovery Channel's "Sons of Guns," didn't quite have to start from scratch when his former business partner Will Hayden's mug shot was transmitted around the world below headlines detailing rape charges. But he nearly did. To separate a gun retail and manufacturing business Meaux helped create from the badly damaged RJF brand, he has since started two new companies in Baton Rouge -- one a gun retailer and the other a gun manufacturer. And he is softly stepping away from the namesake that raised his profile professionally and on the reality silver screen. "The brand was so badly damaged that we had to move away from the Red Jacket brand," he said. "It's just something that had to be done." The two new companies, Meaux Guns and Aklys Defense, are located in a building Meaux owns at 9683 Mammoth Ave, just down the street from the building RJF leased where the show was filmed. He is the sole owner of the new companies. Meaux Guns is the front-of-house retail portion of the facility. Aklys Defense is the manufacturing company, which operates in a warehouse behind the store. The site is the same one where ICEE Distributors was formerly located. Shortly after Hayden was booked in August 2014 in East Baton Rouge Parish on charges for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl, Discovery Chanel canceled the show. Meaux said he doesn't miss the TV show and is glad to instead keep the focus on selling and making guns. "It was a drama-infused environment," he said of filming the TV show. "Being able to get away from that... It's been a lot less stress." But when the initial shock of the arrest came, things started to fall like dominos. More alleged victims came forward, including Hayden's own daughter, Stephanie Hayden Ford, who said her father touched her inappropriately when she was a child. And another woman in her 30s made claims that resulted in more sex crimes charges for the former TV star. Within a week of Hayden's arrest in August, Meaux learned his former partner made a licensing deal behind the backs of him and the other partners, cutting them out of trademark royalties. A Texas car dealership contracted with Hayden, individually rather than with their licensing company, to manufacture Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 10th Anniversary Red Jacket Firearm Edition SUVs stamped with their logo. Red Jacket Licensing sued Hayden in October for breach of contract and secured a judgment last month ordering him to pay $130,000 in damages. While the widespread bad press prompted by TV fame has hurt business, Meaux said he wouldn't be involved in Red Jacket Firearms in the first place had it not been for the show. In the beginning, Hayden had the show deal, but when he lost his license with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Meaux, who previously worked with Hayden, said he stepped in since Hayden needed a licensed gun retail and manufacturer to continue "Sons of Guns." "I came in because of the exposure opportunity for Red Jacket Firearms LLC," he said. But his biggest concern was for the company. The unfortunate result of the press from Hayden's arrest, customer David Clark said, was that it hurt the other employees who had nothing to do with the criminal allegations. "Red Jacket was more than just a face on the TV," said Clark, who came into the store this week to browse the selection and chat with the employees about guns. "There's almost 30 employees behind the scene. It's just a nice group of people." The new logos went up around Christmas, and there's no evidence of the Red Jacket shield on the storefront. But step inside and there's still plenty of RJF merchandise for sale. Pending the outcome of the criminal case as well as the court of public opinion, Meaux hopes the Red Jacket Firearm brand might have a chance to recover, but time will tell. The company still exists, with Ford and a third partner, Charlie Watson, as partners. Hayden is no longer connected to Red Jacket Firearms. In the meantime, Meaux asked local customers not to be dissuaded from dropping by Meaux Guns based on the actions of his former business partner. "We're the people behind the show," he said of current employees. "I was a character on the show. Charlie was a character on the show. But we were the ones here at 1-, 2- and 3-o'clock in the morning getting stuff done," he said. Meaux said he and the other employees, many of whom were on the show, are ready to move forward without the lights and cameras or the drama. "I just wanna talk about guns." Meaux Guns is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Jan 21, 2015.. Trouble just keeps mounting for former “Sons of Guns” star Will Hayden.
Sons of Guns is a reality television series that aired on the Discovery Channel between 2011 and 2014. The series centers on Red Jacket Firearms LLC, ..
Sons of Guns is a reality television series that aired on the Discovery Channel between 2011 and 2014. The series centers on Red Jacket Firearms LLC, a Louisiana-based business that manufactures and sells custom firearms to law enforcement, security firms, and private collectors. Will Hayden is the founder and owner of the shop, his daughter and business partner Stephanie manages the office.
Dec 19, 2014.. The former star of Discovery Channel's "Sons of Guns," Will Hayden, was indicted on multiple rape charges Wednesday in Louisiana. An East ..
Oct 24, 2014.. "Sons of Guns" stars Stephanie Hayden and Kris Ford were arrested Friday in Louisiana.. for allegedly hitting a 9-year-old boy with a belt so ..
Jan 24, 2015.. Joe Meaux and some of other former stars of Discovery Channel's “Sons of Guns” reality show are making a “fresh start” with a new gun ..
Jan 16, 2015.. Former "Sons of Guns" star Joe Meaux started two new gun retail and manufacturing companies, Meaux Guns and Akly's Defense, because of ..