Arvada police arrested a man on suspicion of animal cruelty Thursday after an investigation found that several pets in his care had suffered significant, sometimes life-threatening injuries.

Tyler Willbanks, 29, faces charges of cruelty to animals and aggravated cruelty to animals for allegedly bringing puppies and kittens repeatedly to veterinary offices with significant injuries since 2019, the Arvada Police Department said in a news release Friday morning. Sometimes the injuries were so significant that the animals required euthanization.

A Metro Denver Crime Stoppers tip led to an investigation into Willbanks, which involved officials gathering veterinary records from several offices around the Denver area, according to the release. Those records detailed over two dozen appointments at more than 10 different clinics or hospitals involving several cats and dogs.

In most of the records, Willbanks said the involved pet was injured from falls off of stairs, balconies, cat towers, furniture and refrigerators, the release says. Veterinarians recorded several injuries and illnesses plaguing the pets, including burns, swelling, head trauma, broken bones, collapsed lungs, hemorrhaging, contusions and infections.

Investigators documented several veterinary appointments involving Willbanks in the release. In one, taking place in September 2019, Willbanks brought in a 1-month-old kitten that had reportedly burned its ear on the stove and cut its chin. The man declined the recommended treatment but kept bringing the kitten in as its condition worsened.

In the final visit, Willbanks brought the kitten back because its mouth was swollen and its paw pads were inflamed and peeling, according to the release. The veterinarian felt that it wouldn’t survive treatment; euthanization was recommended and performed.

In another incident, Willbanks brought in a 2-month-old kitten for two reported falls over the span of two weeks, the release says. In the first incident, the kitten had head trauma and was bleeding from its genitals after reportedly falling off a refrigerator; in the second, the kitten’s femur was broken after reportedly falling off a cat tower.

Willbanks declined the veterinarian’s treatment plan for the cat.

From November 2024 to January of this year, a 2-month-old puppy in Willbanks’ care suffered four broken bones from four different incidents, and required three surgeries to repair two broken femurs, a fibula and a tibia, according to the release. During the fourth visit, the veterinarian discovered evidence of older bone breaks in the puppy’s ribs and forearm.

In May, Willbanks brought in a 3-month-old puppy that was unresponsive after reportedly falling down the stairs, the release says. Veterinarians found the puppy to be comatose, with a fractured vertebra as well as bruising and fluid in its lungs. The veterinarian noted that the injuries were more severe than expected for a puppy falling down a flight of stairs. The puppy was euthanized.

Detectives arrested Willbanks without incident at his residence on Thursday, and seized three cats as well as a 2-month-old puppy to be taken to a pet hospital for observation, according to the release. He was booked into the Jefferson County Jail on a $10,000 cash-only bond.

Authorities also believe Willbanks was involved in a fatal road rage hit-and-run crash in September 2024, the release says. While he came forward as the driver at the time, prosecutors were unable to file charges due to insufficient evidence. But investigators collected new evidence about the hit-and-run through the animal investigation.

Anyone with more information about either case is asked to contact the Arvada Police Department tip line at (720) 898-7171.