Nearly 150 counts of animal cruelty for Brick, NJ man

An Ocean County man has been indicted on 149 counts of animal cruelty.

Jeffrey Finlay, 56, of Brick, was indicted on Wednesday in connection with the removal of cats and dogs from his home over a year ago, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

According to authorities, Finlay called police on May 4, 2023, for assistance with removing animals from his home.

Officers discovered approximately 157 cats and three dogs living in the home, the prosecutor's office said.

It took workers more than 24 hours to remove the animals from the home and get them evaluated at local animal facilities.

Initially, Finlay was charged with failure to provide care for a living animal or creature. The charges were upgraded when police received veterinary reports regarding the animals that were removed from Finlay's home.

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Twenty-five cats needed to be euthanized, and four cats were dealing with serious bodily injury, according to the report. It was determined that the poor conditions were due to Finlay's failure to provide necessary care.

A warrant was issued for Finlay's arrest, and he turned himself in on June 14 last year, according to police.

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