Women In Brick Animal Hoarding Case Plead Guilty To Animal Cruelty

BRICK, NJ — Two women charged with hoarding 180 dogs and cats in a Brick Township home in conditions so bad first responders had to wear hazmat suits have pleaded guilty in the case, more than a year after rejecting a plea deal offered by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Aimee Lonczak, 51, and Michele Nycz, 60, pleaded guilty Monday before Ocean County Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan to two counts each of animal cruelty, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Tuesday.

In addition, Lonczak pleaded guilty to a count of child neglect in the case, Billhimer said.

In exchange, the prosecutor's office will be seeking a sentence of 364 days in the Ocean County Jail. As a condition of probation each woman will have a lifetime ban on owning animals, a ban on working with animals, and will have to perform community service that does not involve animals, the prosecutor's office said.

Lonczak and Nycz were arrested Dec. 2, 2022, after Brick Township Patrolman Scott Smith, the township's humane law enforcement officer, and Patrolman Brennan Lanni discovered the dogs and cats living in cages stacked on cages and filthy, unsanitary conditions when they went to investigate an anonymous call about dogs in the house. Read more: 180 Dogs, Cats Removed From Brick Home, 2 Arrested: Police

The conditions in the Arrowhead Park Drive home owned by Nycz that authorities and animal rescue volunteers who were called in to help had to work in shifts.

The initial information from authorities said 135 dogs and 45 cats were removed, along with two dead dogs. Eight animals were sent for emergency veterinary care, authorities said at the time. Of those, 175 animals went to the Ocean County Health Department's animal facilities.

The prosecutor's office said the final tally was 129 dogs and 43 cats in the house, and two dead dogs. Six dogs and a cat were removed from a vehicle parked in the driveway, authorities said.

The child neglect charge stemmed from the fact that Lonczak's then-16-year-old daughter was living with them in conditions described as beyond unsanitary.

Authorities said feces and urine were 3 and 4 inches deep throughout the house, and animals in the cages were subjected to and in some cases covered in the feces and urine of the animals above them.

The fumes in the home were so strong that people had to put on hazmat suits to enter and retrieve the animals, and the house was condemned by Brick Township code enforcement. Two of the dogs removed from the house were dead.

The animals all went to the Ocean County Animal Facilities, where volunteers bathed the animals and those in need of immediate care received attention from veterinarians. The animals, once vetted and stabilized, were adopted into homes.

Lonczak and Nycz at one point tried to get animals they considered their personal pets returned to them, but later agreed to relinquish their claims to the animals.

The two were offered a plea deal in April 2023, but declined it. The terms of that offer were never released, and it was anticipated the case would be presented to a grand jury, before the plea deal was announced Tuesday.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 16, the prosecutor's office said. Assistant Prosecutor Victoria Veni is handling the case.

Previous coverage:

• Brick Animal Hoarding Case: Questions And Answers
• Dogs, Cats From Brick 'Puppy Mill' Under Ocean County's Care
• 'A One-Woman Show': Fosters, Adopters Tell How Rescue Founder Hid Brick Animal Hoarding
  
• 'Nightmare': Popcorn Park Officer Shares Hoarder House Experience
• Women Released To Await Trial In Brick Animal Hoarding Case
• Animals From Brick Hoarding Turned Over To Ocean County
• Missing-Pet Pleas Pour In To Police In Brick Hoarding Case
• Bloodhound Found In Brick Hoarding Case Reunited With Tennessee Family
• Women In Brick Hoarding Case Want 7 'Personal' Dogs Returned: Reports
• Brick Hoarding Case: Prosecutor Says Women Demanded Dogs From Shelter
• Women In Brick Hoarding Case To Remain Free Until Trial, Judge Rules
• Women In Brick Dog Hoarding Case Face Jail Time In Plea Offers
• Women Decline Plea Deal In Brick Animal Hoarding Case