TOMS RIVER: Aimee Lonczak and Michelle Nycz appeared before Judge Baxter in Ocean County Superior Court on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 and rejected the states guilty plea deal. One hundred and eighty dogs and cats were found to be living in deplorable conditions in crates covered in feces and urine. The house on Arrowwood Drive was deemed uninhabitable and was condemned by Brick township.

The state offered them a guilty plea deal of 364 days in county jail, community service, no animal ownership or employment with animals. They rejected this offer. Judge Baxter advised them at a previous hearing that if the reject the plea deal future offers would not be so lenient. The case moves on to the grand jury. They could be facing 3-5 years in state prison for animal cruelty charges and 5-10 years in state prison for child endangerment charges.