Teenager who pleaded guilty to killing koi pond store owner given life sentence

Jonah Michael Poole, the 19-year-old who pleaded guilty to killing Edgewater koi pond store owner Edward Steven Koza, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole Friday.

Anne Arundel Circuit Court Judge Cathleen Vitale called Poole’s conduct violent and unthinkable.

“Young man, I myself have had restless nights over this case,” said Vitale, addressing Poole during the sentencing.

Still, the judge said she struggled handing down a life sentence given his age. She said she “looked very carefully” for something that would support a lesser sentence but could not find anything to justify one.

She said she would recommend to the Department of Corrections that Poole be sent to the Patuxent Institution for rehabilitation. Located in Jessup, the institution is a treatment-focused maximum security facility.

Given the chance to speak, Poole stood and apologized.

“I think I deserve whatever I get,” Poole said. “I hope God can forgive me, because I don’t think I deserve it from anyone else.”

He apologized for putting people “through hell” after Koza’s murder.

After the sentence was read, Poole briefly turned to face members of his family in the courtroom. He blew them a kiss, and someone could be heard saying: “We love you.”

His family said they had no comment as they left the court building.

Poole was arrested and charged in late May, along with his girlfriend, Kylee Alyssa Dakes. The two were dating and set to graduate from Southern High School before they were arrested.

According to police, Poole worked at Koza’s store, Tropic Bay Water Gardens, for “a brief period.”

Authorites say Poole and Dakes attacked Koza at the store on May 24, 2025. They were accused of beating him, restraining him and putting him in his pickup truck. Then, authorities said, the pair doused the vehicle in gasoline and set it on fire.

At 9:31 p.m. on the day of Koza’s killing, Dakes started a video using Poole’s phone, prosecutors wrote in court papers. The clip showed Poole pouring gas into Koza’s truck and throwing the gas can inside. Then Poole held a lighter to paper towels hanging from the driver’s window and set the truck ablaze.

Assistant State’s Attorney Marot Williamson, who prosecuted the case, said Koza had a bruise around his eyes, a fractured nose and “severe thermal injuries.”

When the young couple returned to Dakes’ home in Harwood after the killing, they exchanged messages on Snapchat, according to court documents. In one message, Poole wrote that “it went so well.”

In another, Poole wrote he would have to “skip town” for a while, Williamson said in court. He also wrote that Dakes was “Worth killing for.”

State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess sat in court for most of the hearing. Through a spokesperson, she declined to comment after, because Dakes’ case is pending.

Koza had suspected Poole of breaking into his home May 12, 2025, weeks before the killing, and stealing $500,000 in cash.

Only some of the money Poole is alleged to have stolen has been recovered, prosecutors said in court, about $215,000. It was forfeited as part of the plea agreement and will be disbursed through Koza’s estate.

Poole’s attorney, David Fischer, painted a picture of a young man who had a difficult upbringing and who had serious struggles with mental health.

Fischer said he was not trying to excuse Poole’s behavior, calling it indefensible. Rather, he said he was trying to present mitigating factors for the judge to consider before determining Poole’s sentence.

Vitale did not appear to be persuaded. She could not understand, she said, why the murder happened. She said Poole had multiple opportunities to walk away from the crime scene but chose to kill Koza and burn the body.

The judge said she saw evidence that Poole was trying to “game” the court system, including by claiming suicidal ideation, giving different answers about his mental health to different investigators, researching ways to reduce his sentence and even attempting to smuggle a letter out of jail to Dakes, instructing her to memorize a false recounting of the night of the murder.

Speaking briefly after the trial, Fischer said he respected the judge’s ruling and hoped Poole would be sent to the Patuxent Institution.

Candace Morrison, who was an employee at Tropic Bay Water Gardens, told the judge Koza was like family to her and others in the community.

She described a generous man who loved to help animals and would help customers by watching their fish while they traveled without charging them. Koza let people store their tropical plants in his greenhouse over winter and once watched turtles for a local animal shelter while they awaited adoption.

“I believe we are put on Earth to serve others,” Morrison said — and Koza did that by creating a “magical place” at the store, where people could enjoy exotic plants and animals.

Dakes does not have a trial scheduled, according to online court records. Her next court date is a motions hearing, scheduled for early October. Court filings indicate her attorneys intend to bring an expert witness to testify she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and battered woman syndrome at the time of Koza’s killing.

A letter from Dakes’ attorney says an expert in forensic psychiatry found that a person with Dakes’ psychological profile “would be at significant risk of being unable to leave the scene of, and/or to refuse demands to help with, a violent crime committed by her abuser,” because she would fear for her life or safety “should she do otherwise.”

The Banner’s Alex Mann contributed to this story.