Teen Pleads Guilty To Killing Anne Arundel Business Owner

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — One of two teens accused of killing an Anne Arundel County business owner last year pleaded guilty to charges connected to the man's death, according to prosecutors.

Jonah Michael Poole, 19, of Davidsonville, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the May 24, 2025, death of 67-year-old Edward Stephen Koza, the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 26 at 1:30 p.m.

Poole and his girlfriend, Kyle Alyssa Dakes, also 19, were charged with murder, arson and kidnapping in the death of Koza. The couple was accused of kidnapping Koza, who owned Tropic Bay Water Gardens in Davidsonville, before setting his truck on fire with him in the back seat.

Koza's body was found in the backseat of the burning car, which was parked outside his shop, according to police. Court papers said his arms were bound, and his mouth was taped over.

Officers said Poole worked at Tropic Bay Water Gardens for about two weekends in 2024.

Poole and Dakes were both seniors at Southern High School, an Anne Arundel County Public Schools spokesperson told Patch.

Poole is also accused of spray-painting a swastika on an Edgewater school, as well as burglarizing a Galesville dock bar and stealing over $11,000 from the restaurant in the weeks before Koza's death.

In January, Circuit Judge Cathleen M. Vitale ruled that Poole and Dakes would be tried together, despite defense attorneys arguing that they should be tried separately because court documents suggested that Poole may have been involved in the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from Koza's house.

Dakes has yet to stand trial.

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