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Instead, Alyssa DeStefano was sentenced on Friday to 60 hours of community service, probation and a lifetime ban on owning animals, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
DeStefano was sentenced by the Superior Court Judge Rochelle Gizinski to a two- year term of probation as a result of a previously entered guilty plea in July to animal cruelty, the prosecutor said.
Gizinski ordered DeStefano to perform 60 days of community service, and further imposed a lifetime ban on her owning animals, according to Billhimer.
The State argued for DeStefano to serve 364 days in the Ocean County Jail as a condition of probation, Billhimer said on Friday. afternoon.
DeStefano pleaded guilty to the animal cruelty charge before Judge Gizinski on July 23.
During the evening hours of Nov. 11, 2019, Lacey Township police responded to a residence in Lacey Township on a report that dogs had possibly been abandoned in the residence. Upon arrival, the officers found the house abandoned, and the remains of three dogs were discovered, Billhimer said.
An investigation by detectives from the Lacey Township Police Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Animal Cruelty Squad found that DeStefano was responsible for the care of the dogs and allegedly had abandoned them at the residence, which resulted in their death, according to the prosecutor.
DeStefano was arrested without incident and processed at the Lacey Township Police Department. She was released on a summons pending future court appearances.
Prosecutor Billhimer acknowledged the diligent efforts of Assistant Prosecutor Kimberly Carr who handled the case on behalf of the State, as well as the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Animal Cruelty Squad and Lacey Township Police Department, for their collaborative efforts in connection with this investigation, ultimately resulting in DeStefano’s guilty plea and Friday’s sentence.
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