19-year-old pleads guilty to brutal 2025 murder of Maryland garden center owner
An Anne Arundel County man pleaded guilty to the brutal 2025 murder of 67-year-old Stephen Koza, who owned a garden center in Davidsonville, Maryland.
Jonah Michael Poole, 19, entered a guilty plea of first-degree murder. His sentencing is scheduled for June 26, 2026.
Koza, the owner of Tropic Bay Aquatic Garden Center on West Central Avenue, was found dead in a burned vehicle in the business's parking lot on May 24, 2025.
Kylee Dakes was also charged. Her trial is scheduled for June 2026.
Poole and Dakes were a couple, and they were scheduled to graduate from Southern High School a few weeks after the murder, according to charging documents.
Competency evaluation
In October 2025, a judge ruled that Poole was competent to stand trial after being evaluated by a doctor with the Maryland Department of Health.
Murder of a Maryland garden shop owner
On May 24, 2025, police were called to the Davidsonville garden shop for a vehicle that was engulfed in flames in the parking lot.
Investigators said a body was found tied up and burned inside his pickup truck after firefighters extinguished the flames. The body was identified as Koza, who owned the store.
Police also found a crime scene inside the garden center, which indicated signs of a struggle.
Investigators said Koza was attacked around closing time inside the business. He was tied up, placed in the back of the pickup truck, driven to a gas station, and back to the parking lot, and was set on fire.
"It's extremely unusual, I think, for Anne Arundel County, especially this type of crime or any crime of this magnitude – this heinous type of crime," Anne Arundel County police spokesperson Justin Mulcahy said.
Police said surveillance video showed Poole wearing a Bass Pro Shop hat, which was found at the scene.
Poole briefly worked for Koza at Tropic Bay Aquatic Garden Center in 2024, police confirmed.
