Boy Abandoned By Dad Fleeing Cops in Grandparent's Care

The four-year old child who was abandoned in a car on Monday as his father fled police is in the care of his grandfather.

Orlando Catapano, of Kings Park, the boy’s maternal grandfather, picked him up after someone who knew the family contacted police, according to a report on Newsday.

Police said Paul Lucente, 30 of Kings Park, the father of the boy, was a passenger in a car driven by Benjamin Laudonio, 26, of Stony Brook, . When Laudonio was pulled over by an officer,  Lucente fled the scene with his child still in the back seat. An investigation revealed that Laudonio was under the influence of drugs, police said. 

Lucente was later found by police and arrested on endangering the welfare of a child and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance charges.

According to police, heroin was found in the car.

According to the report, the boy was taken back to his grandparents’ house where he played, but also spent some time crying.

“He saw his father run away from police, and he was crying but he wouldn’t let anybody know that,” Catapano is quoted as saying in the Newsday article.

The boy’s mother, Friends reported in January that. A bake sale was held for Williams that same month, to help fray medical and child care costs.

Arraignment for the two men will be on Tuesday at First District Court in Islip. Detectives are asking anyone with information to call 854-8452.

Click here to read the full report on Newsday (subscription required).