By Mark Gray
9:35am PDT, Oct 27, 2023
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"Home Improvement" star Zachery Ty Bryan will avoid prison time for his domestic violence arrest over the summer. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the former actor struck a deal with prosecutors on Oct. 15, 2023, and agreed to plead guilty to felony assault in the fourth degree constituting domestic violence. As part of the deal, a second domestic violence count was dismissed and prison is now off the table (as long as conditions are met). Instead, the troubled former star will receive a "downward dispositional departure" to 36 months of supervised probation, plus seven days in jail.
He also must abide by a set of conditions typical of domestic violence cases: Zachery must abstain from drugs and alcohol and have no contact with the victim without a probation officer's approval. If terms are violated, he could spend up to 20 months in prison.
"Mr. Bryan decided to accept this resolution and admit that he recklessly caused physical injury to his domestic partner to avoid further trauma to his family so they could move on and heal," his attorney told THR.
Coincidentally, Zachery has already spent time behind bars because of this very case.
Keep reading to learn more about this incident, his past arrests and his "double life"…
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Just weeks before his plea deal, former "Home Improvement" child actor Zachery Ty Bryan spent time behind bars. While his previous arrests over the past three years have allegedly involved domestic violence, that wasn't the case this time, despite how things might seem.
On Sept. 28, 2023, Zachery was booked on two counts of fourth-degree felony assault, but the charges were apparently not new and the arrest was legitimate but also happened because of a technicality: He violated his release agreement in regard to his July 2023 domestic violence arrest.
TMZ reported that the "Home Improvement" actor failed to charge his ankle monitor by mistake. (He's required to wear the monitor per the terms of his bond release from his July arrest.) Because of this, the star was taken into custody during a pre-trial court office appearance. The arrest didn't involve a judge.
He was released from jail on Oct. 1.
MORE: Stars behind bars: mug shots
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In July 2023, Oregon's Eugene Police Department confirmed to TMZ that Zachery Ty Bryan was put in jail for alleged felony assault in violation of the Abuse Prevention Act, which the webloid explained concerns an accusation of attacking someone who'd previously been granted a restraining order in relation to domestic violence.
Afterward, his fiancée, Johnnie Faye Cartwright, spoke about the situation, saying she "always want[s] what's best for the father of my children."
Zachery and Johnnie share three kids. He has four other children from a previous marriage.
"Trauma can bring struggles in many shapes and forms. It's a horrible situation that's going to be spun in so many ways," Johnnie said. "I've learned firsthand the truth will never align with what's been put out there. I ask everyone to please be respectful of our privacy for the sake of the children and our families so the healing process can begin."
MORE: "Home Improvement" stars: Where are they now?
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While leading a "double life" Zachery Ty Bryan was arrested in 2020 for felony strangulation after a fight with his then-girlfriend, Johnnie Faye Cartwright. A few years later, the "Home Improvement" actor claimed the whole thing was "blown out of proportion."
"We didn't even really get that physical. We got really loud. We were screaming and because we were in a townhome that had [thin walls], everybody could hear," he told The Hollywood Reporter in June 2023. "Johnnie was, at the time, just really upset about my situation. At the end of the day, [the police] throw a bunch of counts at you because they ultimately want you to plead to something."
Cops said something different, as they told TMZ that Zachary woke up Johnnie, pulled her out of bed by her hair and started beating her, all while shouting obscenities about missing cell phone chargers. She told police that he choked her to the point she thought she was going to suffocate and that he put his knee into the back of her neck.
Ultimately, the former child star pleaded guilty to menacing and fourth-degree assault.
At the time of the incident, Zachery was married to Carly Matros, but he and Johnnie had also been involved in a two-year sexual relationship. Johnnie, Zach said, was frustrated over his "double life."
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While his latest arrests have dealt with alleged domestic violence, Zachery Ty Bryan has struggled with alcohol too. Over the years, he's been arrested four times for driving under the influence of alcohol. He's also been accused of running a cryptocurrency scam in which many people lost thousands of dollars, The Hollywood Reporter reported in 2023.
"This was not me running some shady scam deal or something — that's just not me," he told the trade publication of his former involvement with a crypto company. While acknowledging that people lost money, he blamed the company for changing its "business model."
"What people don't understand is that you take risks. Nothing is for sure. It's the same with movie investments and everything else, you lose or you win," he said.
