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Officials said on Tuesday that two women who are accused with animal cruelty in connection with the collection of 180 dogs and cats at a residence in Brick Township had turned down plea agreements.
Tuesday morning, Michele Nycz, 58, and Aimee J. Lonczak, 50, appeared before Superior Court Judge Linda Baxter for a status hearing on the charges
stemming from the finding of the dogs and cats in Nycz's home on December 3.In March, according to Baxter, Lonczak and Nycz received plea deals that included jail time. She advised the two women and their counsel that they needed to decide whether to accept the deals or proceed to trial by that point.
Both ladies reportedly turned down the plea bargains, according to the
Ocean County prosecutor's office on Tuesday afternoon.
The prosecutor's office will next proceed to present the case before a grand jury, where there is a chance that both women will be charged. Since grand jury hearings are not publicly disclosed in advance, it is unknown when that will occur.
Additional charges were pending against the two ladies, according to Assistant Prosecutor Alexander Becker, who testified at their detention hearing in December.
Lonczak's attorney, Glenn Kassman, said that the women had rejected the plea agreements but would not go further.
