Latest news with #EdwardKoza
CBS News
20-06-2025
- CBS News
Man charged in killing of Maryland business owner also accused of vandalizing school
One of two suspects charged in the murder of a Maryland business owner is also being accused of vandalizing a school, according to charging documents. Jonah Michael Poole, 18, who is also facing murder, assault, and arson charges in relation to the murder of Edward Stephen Koza in early June, has also been charged with hate crime, vandalism, and harassment charges. On May 15, Anne Arundel County police responded to the Summit School in Edgewater for a report of vandalism and a hate crime that occurred. Police spoke with Director Dr. Joan McCarthy when they arrived. A swastika and derogatory phrases about sexual orientation had been spray-painted on the exterior of the gym building, as well as the main school building, police said. Video surveillance provided to officers showed a white male dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt with a tan shirt wrapped around his head arrive on the scene around 1:00 a.m. that morning before spray-painting buildings. Murder of Anne Arundel County business owner Human remains of Koza, who owned the Tropic Bay Aquatic Garden Center in Davidsonville, were found in a burned vehicle in a parking lot on May 24. Around 9:25 p.m., officers responded to a fully engulfed vehicle fire in the parking lot of a business in the 600 block of West Central Avenue in Davidsonville. The vehicle was extinguished before the remains were found, according to police. Poole, along with 18-year-old Kyle Dakes, was taken into custody at a Harwood home on May 31. Officers said a crime scene inside the garden center was discovered, which indicated signs of a struggle. Police allege Poole and Dakes assaulted Koza, put him in his truck, and drove the truck to a gas station to buy gas as a fire accelerant. They then allegedly returned the truck to the store and lit it on fire before fleeing the scene, police said. Koza was found with his arms, hands, and mouth taped. Poole worked for Koza at the Tropic Bay Aquatic Garden Center briefly in 2024, police confirmed. Poole charged in burglary of restaurant Days before the murder, on May 18, police said Poole allegedly broke into Pirates Cove restaurant in Galesville, caused about $6,000 in damage, and stole more than $11,000 from the safe. Police said Dakes' was working at the restaurant until May 13. Koza's home was also burglarized just a day before the restaurant break in, according to police. Police said Poole and Dakes both attended Southern High School. Both Poole and Dakes are facing first and second-degree murder, first and second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first and second-degree murder, and arson.
CBS News
05-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Anne Arundel County business owner had home burglarized days before he was killed, police say
The owner of an aquatic garden business in Anne Arundel County reported he had his home broken into less than two weeks before he was tied up and burned in his pickup truck, according to police. Police said 67-year-old Edward Stephen Koza told officers that someone stole an undisclosed amount of cash from the home on Spring Race Court in Annapolis on May 12. Police said 67-year-old Edward Stephen Koza told officers that someone stole an undisclosed amount of cash from the home on Spring Race Court in Annapolis on May 12. Contributed photo Jonah Poole and Kylee Dakes, both 18 years old, are facing murder, assault, and arson charges related to Koza's death on May 24. Anne Arundel County police confirmed Poole briefly worked for Koza at Tropic Bay Aquatic Garden Center in Davidsonville in 2024. A neighbor told WJZ that Koza may have been struggling in the weeks leading up to his death. "He was a pretty good neighbor, I know he suffered depression several times," the neighbor said. Police said they cannot release any specific details about the burglary due to the ongoing nature of the investigation. Video of the possible suspect A video circulating on social media appears to show a suspect who fits Poole's description setting fire to a truck that is described in charging documents as Koza's. Police are working to authenticate it as part of their homicide investigation. According to police, Koza was attacked around closing time inside the Tropic Bay Aquatic Center. 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. "I was shocked," Koza's neighbor said. Sequence of events leading to murder WJZ learned that Dakes' last day at her job at Pirates Cove restaurant in Galesville was on May 13, the day after Koza's home was burglarized. Poole allegedly burglarized Pirates Cove on May 18 and caused about $6,000 in damage and stole more than $11,000 from the safe, according to charging documents. Koza was found dead in his burned truck on May 24, and the suspects were arrested on May 31. Charging documents also revealed that Dakes and Poole were a couple and were scheduled to graduate from Southern High School this week. An Anne Arundel County Public Schools newsletter that celebrates AVID seniors said Dakes was planning to attend Notre Dame of Maryland to study radiology and had received more than $200,000 in scholarships.
CBS News
04-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Police working to authenticate video in homicide investigation of Maryland business owner
Anne Arundel County police are working to authenticate a video to determine if it's part of a homicide investigation where a business owner was tied up and set on fire in his truck. Police say two 18-year-olds were arrested after 67-year-old Edward Stephen Koza, the owner of Tropic Bay Aquatic Garden Center in Davidsonville, was found dead in a burned car in the parking lot. Jonah Poole and Kylee Dakes are facing first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first- and second-degree murder, and arson. They were supposed to have been at Southern High School's graduation this week. The video circulating on social media appears to show a young man matching Poole's description in the charging documents lighting a truck on fire. "Nobody deserves to die that way," Koza's neighbor told WJZ. During a court hearing Monday, Poole and Dakes were ordered to be held without bail. What happened? Anne Arundel County police say Poole and Dakes went to the Tropic Bay Aquatic Garden Center around closing time on Saturday, May 24, where the owner, Koza, was alone inside. Officers said the couple attacked Koza, tied him up, put him in his pickup truck, drove it to a nearby gas station to purchase gas, went back to the garden center, and set the truck on fire with Koza inside. After the vehicle fire was extinguished, investigators found Koza's body on the passenger side. "You have your whole life ahead of you, and you just threw it away for a couple of dollars?" Anne Arundel County resident Danielle Schline said. Anne Arundel County residents were stunned by the vicious crime in their small Davidsonville town. "This was not just a simple robbery or burglary," said Andrew Griffith. "They went pretty far." Suspect allegedly stole $11k from restaurant Days before the murder, on May 18, police said Poole allegedly broke into Pirates Cove restaurant in Galesville, caused about $6,000 in damage, and stole more than $11,000 from the safe. The restaurant said in a statement that Dakes was an employee there until May 13. People familiar with Poole believe he was a previous employee of Koza's at Tropic Bay, but WJZ is working to confirm that. An Anne Arundel County Public Schools newsletter that celebrates AVID seniors said Dakes was planning to attend Notre Dame of Maryland to study radiology and had received more than $200,000 in scholarships.
