Dead Dogs Kept in Perth Amboy Apartment, Woman Pleads Guilty

Perth Amboy, NJ - A Perth Amboy woman appeared in municipal court last week and pleaded guilty to three animal abuse charges brought by the NJ SCPCA, including needlessly killing a living animal, the state SPCA said Friday.

The case against Shannie Munoz, 34, began in June of 2015 when Middlesex County Sheriff's officers where evicting Munoz from her Gadek Place apartment in Perth Amboy. While evicting her, the sheriff's officers made a shocking discovery: 2 dead pit bulls were being kept in the apartment. A dead pit bull was found in the bathtub, and a second dead pit bull was found stuffed into a cardboard box under the stairs.

Munoz had abandoned the apartment sometime earlier, leaving the animals behind, but would frequently visit to collect mail, police said. The sheriff's officers notified the NJ State Humane Police, who filed three charges of animal abuse.

Munoz then missed several mandatory court dates, and at least six NJ Humane officers spent the next year searching for her, after a $5,000 warrant was issued for her arrest.

She was eventually arrested on the outstanding warrant. On July 21, some 13 months after the investigation began, she pleaded guilty to the three charges, two of which were civil violations and the third was a criminal charge. Munoz was sentenced to a $3,000 fine, a 10-year ban on owning or possessing any animals and 60 days incarceration at the Middlesex County Corrections Center.

Patch file photo of a pit bull