An Arvada man has been sentenced to four years in the Colorado Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty, closing out a case that documented years of injuries and deaths among pets in his care. Tyler Willbanks will also serve two years of probation once released, and he is barred from owning or accessing any animal for the full six-year term.
According to Denver7, police reported both the guilty plea and the sentence this week. The case involved three pet deaths, and another dog suffered multiple broken legs, the station reported.
A Pattern Investigators Traced Back Years
The case against Willbanks took shape after the Arvada Police Department’s animal management unit received a tip in August alleging a disturbing pattern: repeated pet purchases followed by the animals’ deaths or severe injuries, per Denver7’s reporting on the police account. An animal management unit officer then began contacting veterinary clinics across the Denver metro area to pull records tied to Willbanks.
What investigators found spanned years. Police reviewed more than two dozen appointments across more than 10 veterinary offices and hospitals involving cats and dogs, according to the same police account relayed by Denver7, with records covering 2019 through 2025. Westword reported that police said seven pets in total were brought to those clinics, often with Willbanks attributing the injuries to falls, and that the first documented incident occurred in September 2019, involving a kitten with a burned ear that later developed an infection and was euthanized. kdvr.com, however, reported the alleged pattern as spanning from September 2018 through July, a discrepancy that remains unresolved in the public record.
Burns, Broken Bones and Brain Bleeds Documented by Vets
Veterinarians who treated the animals documented a grim list of injuries, including burns, abrasions, swelling, head trauma, broken bones, collapsed lungs, contusions, hemorrhaging and infections, as reported by kdvr.com. An arrest affidavit cited by the station also stated that Willbanks repeatedly declined proposed treatment for the animals during veterinary visits.
The Denver Post detailed some of the specific cases. One puppy suffered four broken bones across four separate incidents between November 2024 and January, undergoing three surgeries before surviving, the newspaper reported. Two other puppies did not survive: a puppy named Maverick was euthanized after veterinarians determined his injuries were more severe than would be expected from a fall and were not survivable, and a puppy named Axel was euthanized in July after suffering head trauma and bleeding in his brain, according to The Denver Post. Arvada police told the paper the three injured puppies were part of a larger pattern dating back to 2019 that also included two kittens, a cat and another puppy.
Arrest and Custody
Detectives arrested Willbanks at his home without incident on October 9, 2025, and he was booked into the Jefferson County jail, police reported. He remained in custody on a $10,000 cash-only bond before the case moved through the court system to his eventual plea and sentencing.
Ties to an Unsolved Fatal Hit-and-Run
The animal-cruelty investigation also intersected with an earlier, unrelated tragedy. Willbanks was involved in a fatal collision in September 2024 in which he struck and killed another driver following a road-rage incident, then left the scene, police said. He later came forward as the hit-and-run driver, but the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office was unable to file charges in the collision case at the time due to insufficient evidence.
The Denver Post reported that Willbanks was the driver in that September 2024 crash, which killed 66-year-old David Brlej, though other reporting has listed Brlej’s age as 67. Detectives said the animal-abuse investigation turned up new evidence related to the original hit-and-run case, and police described that hit-and-run investigation as ongoing.
What Colorado Law Allows
Colorado’s animal cruelty statute gives courts tools beyond incarceration in these cases. Under HB19-1092, a court may impose a mental-health treatment program or another appropriate treatment program as part of a cruelty sentence, and the law also allows for an order barring the person from owning pets — the same kind of restriction now applied to Willbanks for six years.
The Arvada Police Department is asking anyone with further information or evidence related to the case to call 303-980-7171.
