A Fort Wayne man faces a felony charge after he locked his son in the basement of their home and forced the child to urinate in a cup, according to Allen Superior Court records filed Monday.

Eric Urbano, 38, of the 1400 block of Spy Run Avenue, faces one count of neglect of a dependent.

According to court records, Urbano kept his son locked in the basement of his near-north-side home from October to March. Police were called to the area March 6 after a neighbor reported three children fighting with a stun gun.

Police followed one of the children to his home and questioned him about the fight. The boy, whose age is not listed in court records, said he had been chased by two other children and had cut his hand after they threw rocks at him. When police talked to the boy, they noticed a total of five dogs and cats at the boy’s home – along with an offensive odor.

The odor and animals prompted further investigation, during which police learned the boy’s father was in Florida with his girlfriend and the boy was left at home alone. The boy’s mother lives out of state and said she had not talked to her son in more than six months, court records said.

The boy told police his father would lock him in the basement because he ate too much food, and then give him a cup to urinate in. When the boy was hungry or wanted to use a restroom, he told police he would escape out a basement window and walk to a nearby fast-food restaurant, documents said.

The boy’s mother said her son has behavioral problems and that the boy had told her he was locked in the basement and denied medication for Tourette’s syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder and bipolar disorder. When an Indiana Child Protective Services worker spoke to Urbano, he admitted to frequently keeping his son in the basement and said he had been in Florida for four days while his son was at home, according to records.

Police used a warrant to search the home and found feces throughout the basement – and in every room of the home – along with syringes with liquid inside them, records said. There were also notes in the home for the boy, reminding the boy how to care for himself, not to eat too much food, which dishes to use and that there was a telephone in the home where he could receive – but not place – calls, court records said.

The boy slept on an inflatable mattress but did not have access to food or running water in the basement, records said. The boy told police his father would lock him in the basement anytime his father left the house, and at night.

Connie Myers, a neighbor, said the boy and his family moved in about a year ago and that during that time, she has seen the boy outside only twice. Myers, who estimates the boy is about 10 years old, said she has never seen him picked up by a school bus but had seen police and Animal Care & Control workers at the home over the past few weeks.

The boy has been placed in foster care.

Urbano had not been arrested Tuesday.

habrams@jg.net