Judge sentences two Brick animal hoarders to 364 days in jail, imposes lifetime pet ban

Two Brick women have been sentenced to 364 days in Ocean County Jail following their June guilty pleas to two counts of animal cruelty for hoarding more than 170 dogs and cats in squalid conditions.

Michele Nycz, 60, and Aimee Lonczak, 51, also received lifetime bans on owning or working with animals from Judge Guy P. Ryan in Superior Court in Toms River, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said in a statement.

The four years of probation they were both sentenced to, which the jail terms are part of, includes community service.

Ryan imposed another 364-day jail term on Lonczak for child neglect. Her 16-year-old daughter was also living in the house in “filth and squalor” and ridiculed at school because “she reeked of urine and feces,” authorities said.

Lonczak's two jail terms will run concurrently.

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The animal cruelty investigation began on Dec. 2. 2022.

Brick police went to the women’s Arrowhead Park Drive home following an anonymous tip that the women were operating a puppy mill on the property.

While speaking with Lonczak and Nycz in their driveway, police officers smelled a strong odor coming from the house and heard barking inside.

After being allowed into the home, the officers confronted an overpowering stench and severely unsanitary conditions. Animal crates with dogs and cats inside them were stacked on top of one another.

The officers left the home and requested a hazmat team. Rescuers in specialized gear removed 129 dogs and 43 cats, as well as the remains of two dead dogs.

Lonczak and Nycz were arrested at the scene, taken to the county jail and later released.

The case against them was handled by Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Victoria Veni.

Ken Serrano covers breaking news, crime and investigations. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or kserrano@gannettnj.com .

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Judge sentences two Brick animal hoarders to 364 days in jail, imposes lifetime pet ban