Wincopia Farms

Wincopia Farms
Location of Wincopia Farms in Maryland
Location North Laurel, Maryland
Coordinates 39°08′48″N 76°50′50″W / 39.14667°N 76.84722°W / 39.14667; -76.84722Coordinates: 39°08′48″N 76°50′50″W / 39.14667°N 76.84722°W / 39.14667; -76.84722
Governing body Private

Wincopia Farms is a historic farm located at North Laurel, Howard County, Maryland, United States.

Wincopia farms was one of three large farms in the area. Overlook Farm and Fairlands remain well preserved, but the 124 acre Wincopia Farms was purchased for development. The Hearn family operated the farm for over 200 years. They raised Poinsettias with customers that included the White House and Kennedy Center.

On 8 September 1992, a man and a teenager attempted a series of failed carjackings starting at the southbound I-95 rest stop on Wincopin property leased by the Hearn Family through the Bolling Brook subdivisions. The men carjacked the vehicle of Dr. Pam Basu and her 22-month-old daughter at a stop at Horsham and Kightsbridge road. Basu attempted to retrieve her daughter, and was dragged to death along Gorman Road, with the carjackers leaving her body entangled at the fenced entrance to Wincopia Farms. As a direct result of the violent incident, the Federal Anti-Car Theft Act of 1992 (FACTA) was created, the first federal carjacking law. The 1992 act, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 2119, took effect on October 25, 1992.[1][2][3]

In 1992, the Hearn family took out a $4.5 million high interest loan from Gourley and Gourley LLC secured by the property to overhaul and expand the company greenhouses. By the Great Recession in the United States in 2007, the debt accrued to $10 million. Gourley and Gourley LLC foreclosed on the high interest sustainment loan, liquidating the family inventory and belongings, evicting the Hearn family, and reselling the property for $41 million to build 220 homes on the site.[4][5][6] Howard County designated the main access, Gorman road, a scenic road but offered the developer exemptions to reduce setbacks, widen the road, add a tunnel, and cut down the 300-year-old trees that bordered the road.[7][8][9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mike Folks, Carjacking Law Getting Little Use: Few Prosecutions Occur Despite Increase in Number of Cases, Sun-Sentinel (January 17, 1994).
  2. ↑ Mr. James H. Lilley, Mr. Biswanth "Steve" Basu. FATAL DESTINY - The Carjacking Murder of Dr. Pam Basu.
  3. ↑ Lane Page (25 April 2012). "Carjacking murder of Pam Basu subject of former county cop's book Mount Airy author publishes first book about 1992 case". The Baltimore Sun.
  4. ↑ Caitlin Moran (13 May 2010). "Eviction ends long struggle over Wincopia Farms Family displaced from property after foreclosure". Gazzette.
  5. ↑ "Fraser Forbes is Delighted to Announce the Sale of Wincopia Farms to Beazer Homes for $41 Million" (PDF). Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "WINCOPIA FARMS, LP, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. G&G, LLC, Defendant – Appellee, and TRENT GOURLEY, Defendant." (PDF). Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  7. ↑ June Arney (14 April 2008). "A family fights for farm, legacy Howard County residents hope to regain 124-acre property lost in foreclosure sale". The Baltimore Sun.
  8. ↑ "Howard County farm fetches $41M in deferred compensation deal that could reach 'eight figures'". Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  9. ↑ Arthur Hirsch (7 July 2013). "Wincopia Farms construction could start in spring Beazer Homes buys land for $41 million". The Baltimore Sun.
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