Former “Home Improvement” star Jonathan Taylor Thomas was arrested Monday in Westlake Village, California, after allegedly resisting a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop, according to court records obtained by Fox News Digital.
Thomas was booked at the Malibu/Lost Hills sheriff’s station and later released.
Law enforcement sources told TMZ that Thomas was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by deputies. Deputies reportedly ordered him to remain inside the car, but he got out anyway. He was also reportedly intoxicated at the time.
A law enforcement statement given to People magazine described the sequence of events:
“The driver was being detained for DUI investigation. Sometime during the investigation, Mr. Taylor decided he would exit the vehicle. Deputies told him to sit back down in the vehicle. He was uncooperative with them, failed to follow orders, and obstructed the investigation, so he was arrested for obstruction, and he was arrested for drunk in public.”
The arrest came weeks after Thomas reunited publicly with his “Home Improvement” co-stars Patricia Richardson and Taran Noah Smith. In August, Richardson posted a rare reunion photo with the pair, captioning it “My other boys” with a heart emoji, more than 25 years after the sitcom’s finale.
Richardson played Jill Taylor opposite Tim Allen’s Tim “The Toolman” Taylor for eight seasons. Thomas and Smith played sons Randy and Mark, while Zachery Ty Bryan played oldest son Brad.
Thomas became one of the most recognizable child stars of the 1990s, appearing in films including “Tom and Huck” and “Man of the House,” and voicing young Simba in Disney’s 1994 film “The Lion King.” He left “Home Improvement” during its eighth and final season, with his character written off to Costa Rica, and largely stepped back from acting.
“I’d been going nonstop since I was 8 years old,” Thomas told People in 2013. “I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break.”
He briefly returned to television, reuniting with former co-star Tim Allen on “Last Man Standing” from 2013 to 2015, appearing in four episodes and directing three.
