Home Improvement alum Zachery Ty Bryan has been sentenced to jail time following a 2024 DUI arrest.
Bryan, 44, was re-arraigned on Monday, February 23, after previously striking a plea deal with prosecutors, according to TMZ. The former child actor pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and admitted to an enhancement for driving with a BAC of 0.15 percent or higher, nearly double the legal limit.
Per the outlet, Bryan was denied probation and sentenced to 16 months in county jail with credit for 57 days served.
Bryan, who costarred alongside Tim Allen on Home Improvement for eight seasons from 1991 to 1999, has faced a long history of legal issues. In October 2020, he was arrested after an argument with girlfriend Johnnie Faye Cartwright and was later charged for felony strangulation, fourth-degree assault and interfering with making a police report. He ultimately agreed to a plea deal, pleading guilty to menacing and fourth-degree assault. He received seven days in jail and 36 months of probation.
Bryan later claimed the incident was “blown out of proportion.”
“We got really loud. We were screaming and because we were in a townhome that had [thin walls], everybody could hear,” Bryan told The Hollywood Reporter in June 2023, alleging that he and Cartwright, whom he remained in a relationship with at the time, didn’t “even really get that physical” prior to his arrest. “At the end of the day, [the police] throw a bunch of counts at you because they ultimately want you to plead to something. I could’ve fought it — but that’s more stress and drama.”
Three years after his first felony, The Hollywood Reporter accused Bryan of running a fraudulent agriculture-technology startup scheme, claiming the actor allegedly took individual payments ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 in exchange for fake contracts. Bryan denied the allegations.
In 2023, Bryan was arrested and charged with fourth-degree felony assault, third-degree robbery and misdemeanor harassment following an alleged physical domestic dispute with a woman, for which he served 36 months of supervised probation and seven days in jail. The following year, he was arrested in February and October, both times on DUI charges.
Us Weekly confirmed in January 2025 that Bryan had been arrested for second-degree domestic violence in South Carolina after police responded to a domestic issue. He was arrested again 10 months later in Oregon after violating his probation from his previous domestic violence conviction. Cartwright was also arrested and charged with a DUI and three counts of reckless endangering and attempted first-degree assault.
According to authorities, Bryan and Cartwright’s three children were with them when the incident took place.
“Deputies learned Zachery Ty Bryan, 44, of Eugene, was in a pickup truck with Johnnie Faye Cartwright, 32, of Eugene, and their three small children. They were driving together in the area,” Lane County Sheriff’s Office confirmed at the time, noting that “Cartwright then attempted to run over Bryan, crashing the truck with the children inside into the ditch. … Bryan was able to move out of the way and avoid injury. No one inside the pickup was injured.”
Cartwright, who pleaded guilty to a DUI and reckless driving, was sentenced to 24 months of probation for each respective plea and ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and a $255 DUI conviction fee. Her license was also suspended for one year and she was ordered to comply with the ignition interlock device requirement once she’s back behind the wheel. She cannot possess or consume alcohol, nor can she visit any place where booze is the main product kept or sold, per documents obtained by Us.
During the hearing, Cartwright’s attorney referred to Bryan as Cartwright’s “ex-partner,” detailing the pair’s “tumultuous” relationship.
“He had been convicted of domestic violence and is pending a revocation of his downward departure for contacting Ms. Cartwright at the time of this incident. She was told by him that his probation had been completed and that he was able to have contact with her,” the lawyer stated in court. “In my discussions with her, I let her know that that was indeed not the case. They have a tumultuous relationship. It’s the best way to summarize it. They do share three small children, and she depends on him financially quite a bit.
