DAVIDSONVILLE, Md. — An Anne Arundel County man pleaded guilty to the 2025 murder of 67-year-old Edward Stephen Koza, the owner of Tropic Bay Water Gardens.
Jonah Michael Poole, 19, entered a guilty plea to first-degree murder.
His sentencing is scheduled for June 26.
This stems from an incident on May 24, 2025, when investigators discovered Koza's body inside a burning truck.
The pickup truck was found fully engulfed in flames in the parking lot of Tropic Bay Water Gardens on West Central Avenue.
The 67-year-old's arms, hands, and mouth were bound with tape, in what turned out to be his own vehicle.
On the ground, outside Koza's car, detectives spotted a Bass Pro Shop hat.
As police went to check inside the store, they observed obvious signs of a struggle with various items broken and knocked over.
Detectives spoke to someone Koza knew, who happened to be passing by the store around closing time.
This person didn't recall seeing Koza's truck on the lot, yet noticed a red Lincoln parked there.
Police reviewed area license plate readers, in an attempt to track the movement of Koza's pickup truck and the red Lincoln.
Surveillance footage at a neighboring BP gas station captured a man and woman pulling up in Koza's truck before it was set on fire.
The two were identified as Poole and Kylee Alyssa Dakes, who was known to be dating Poole.
Poole and Dakes were seen taking the Lincoln to the Bass Pro Shop in Arundel Mills earlier in the day.
Cameras there caught Poole buying the Bass Pro Shop hat he wore at the BP, that police later found at the crime scene.
Cell tower records also placed Poole at Koza's store around the time of the murder.
