Nearly $28K In Police Overtime Spent On Brick Animal Hoarding Case

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township Police Department spent nearly $28,000 in overtime during its December response to a home where 180 dogs and cats were being kept in uninhabitable conditions.

The police overtime cost was revealed Tuesday evening as Police Chief David Forrester discussed the department's 2023 budget requests, including a spike in overtime in 2022.

It started when Brick Township's humane law enforcement officer, Patrolman Scott Smith and Patrolman Brennan Lanni, called for assistance after his initial glimpse into a home on Arrowhead Park Drive about 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, where the animals were being kept in uninhabitable conditions.

That led to an operation that lasted well into Saturday afternoon at the scene, plus follow-up investigation that has included Smith fielding hundreds of emails about the animals and additional work at the home, where Aimee J. Lonczak and Michele Nycz were permitted entry only accompanied by a police officer, under court orders.

"It was an active crime scene," Forrester said in response to a question about the cost, with officers having to make sure the home was safe to enter, along with having to document where and how the animals were being kept in the home.

Forrester said there was an additional follow-up at the home where the back yard was excavated as part of the investigation. Authorities have not said what, if anything, was found during that excavation.

The overtime expense — $27,934 — exceeded the police overtime cost of the January 2022 snowstorm, which was $27,213, Forrester said.

Brick Township Attorney Kevin Starkey said the township has asked the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office to include the police overtime cost in restitution requirements for Lonczak and Nycz if the two are convicted of animal cruelty in the case.

Lonczak and Nycz were in court Tuesday morning for a status hearing in the case, where it was revealed that the prosecutor's office has offered plea deals to the women. Those plea deals include jail time, said Judge Linda Baxter, who is presiding over the case.

Lonczak, who had been seeking the return of five dogs she said were her personal pets, withdrew that request at Tuesday's hearing. Read more: Women In Brick Dog Hoarding Case Face Jail Time In Plea Offers

Previous coverage:

• Brick Animal Hoarding Case: Questions And Answers
• 180 Dogs, Cats Removed From Brick Home, 2 Arrested: Police
• Dogs, Cats From Brick 'Puppy Mill' Under Ocean County's Care
• How Rescue Founder Hid Brick Animal Hoarding: Fosters, Adopters Speak
• 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
• 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

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