Zachery Ty Bryan, best known for playing Brad Taylor on the hit 1990s sitcom Home Improvement, has been sentenced to 16 months in county jail after pleading guilty to a felony DUI charge stemming from a 2024 arrest in California.
The 44-year-old former child star was sentenced on February 23, 2026, in connection with a DUI incident that took place in La Quinta, California, in February 2024. According to court records, Bryan admitted to the felony DUI charge and acknowledged an enhancement tied to two prior DUI convictions. The court denied probation, and after receiving credit for 57 days already served, Bryan is expected to spend more than 14 months behind bars.
The latest sentencing marks the sixth time Bryan has been arrested in the past five years, highlighting a pattern of legal troubles that has followed the actor since his days as a television teen idol.
Bryan is also scheduled to appear in Lane County, Oregon, on March 2 for a probation violation hearing connected to a domestic violence case from 2023. That earlier case involved allegations of a physical altercation that led to charges including fourth-degree assault, third-degree robbery, and harassment. Bryan later pleaded guilty to felony fourth-degree assault related to domestic violence and served a short jail sentence.
In late 2025, Bryan was again arrested alongside his fiancée, Johnnie Faye Cartwright, after authorities alleged he violated the terms of his probation from the earlier case. Court documents show that Bryan later admitted to several probation violations, and his probation officer has reportedly recommended a sentence that could extend to nearly 20 months tied to the original conviction.
Bryan’s legal issues date back several years. In 2020, he was arrested in Oregon and later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence charges after an incident involving Cartwright. He served one week in jail and was placed on probation for three years.
Since then, his record has included multiple arrests across several states, including additional DUI charges in 2024 and another domestic violence arrest in South Carolina in early 2025. The repeated incidents have kept Bryan in the headlines long after his early fame on television.
Once known as a teen heartthrob during the height of Home Improvement’s popularity, Bryan has struggled to stay out of legal trouble in recent years. With his new jail sentence and an upcoming probation hearing in Oregon, the actor’s legal challenges appear far from over.
