129 dogs, 43 cats: 2 Ocean County, NJ, women get minimal jail time in animal cruelty case
Two women from Ocean County are headed to jail for less than a year in connection to an animal cruelty case.
Authorities say on Friday, 60-year-old Michele Nycz and 51-year-old Aimee Lonczak, both from Brick Township, were each sentenced to 364 days in the Ocean County Jail as a condition of a four-year probationary term after pleading guilty to two counts of animal cruelty.
Lonczak was also sentenced to 364 days behind bars on a child neglect charge from the same investigation; the sentences will run concurrently.
Both women will also be prohibited from ever owning animals again and they'll be required to perform community service.
On December 2nd, 2022, Brick Township police officers were called to a home on Arrowhead Park Drive after they received an anonymous complaint about a puppy mill.
While speaking with the residents of that home, Lonczak and Nycz, officers smelled a strong odor coming from the house and they heard barking. Once inside, cops were met with an "intense odor and unsanitary conditions" and numerous animal crates containing dogs and cats were found.
Eventually, officials removed approximately 129 dogs and 43 cats from that home along with the bodies of two dead dogs.
Lonczak and Nycz, both of whom resided at the residence with Lonczak’s 16-year-old child, were taken into custody without incident and transported to the Ocean County Jail. They were both released per bail reform guidelines.
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