What to Know
- Two women were sentenced to jail after police found 129 dogs and 43 cats in their New Jersey home, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced.
- Michele Nycz, 60, and Aimee Lonczak, 51, were sentenced to 364 days in the Ocean County Jail and a four-year probationary term. Both also received a lifetime ban from owning animals or working them.
- Because of the foul condition, police had to exit the home and called a Hazmat team which subsequently removed about 129 dogs and 43 cats, as well as the bodies of two dead dogs.
Two women were sentenced to jail after police found 129 dogs and 43 cats in their New Jersey home, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced.
Michele Nycz, 60, and Aimee Lonczak, 51, were sentenced to 364 days in the Ocean County Jail and a four-year probationary term. Both also received a lifetime ban from owning animals or working them.
Nycz and Lonczak's sentences comes after both pled guilty to two counts of animal cruelty in connection to an investigation that kicked off on 2022.
According to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer, on Dec. 2, 2022, Brick Township police were called to a residence on Arrowhead Park Drive after receiving an anonymous complaint that those who lived in the home were running a puppy mill.
According to the investigation, when police spoke with residents Lonczak and Nycz in the driveway, they smelled a strong odor emanating from the residence and heard barking.
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After officers were allowed to enter the residence they once again smelled an intense odor and saw unsanitary conditions. They also allegedly saw dogs and cats stacked on top of each other in crates.
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Because of the foul condition, police had to exit the home and called a Hazmat team which subsequently removed about 129 dogs and 43 cats, as well as the bodies of two dead dogs.
The two women, both of whom reside at the home along with Lonczak's 16-year-old child, were subsequently taken into custody and pled guilty.
Lonczak also received a 364 days sentence after pleading guilty to child neglect in connection to the same investigation. The sentences will run concurrently.
