Teens set business owner's car on fire with him inside: Cops
Share and Follow

From left to right: Jonah Michael Poole, Edward Koza and Kylee Alyssa Dakes (Anne Arundel Police Department). Background: Tropic Bay Water Gardens parking lot in Maryland, where Poole and Dakes lit Koza’s car on fire with him still inside, cops say (WBAL).

Two 18-year-olds in Maryland face life behind bars after they allegedly attacked a garden shop owner, bound him in his car and lit it on fire with him still inside.

Jonah Michael Poole and Kylee Alyssa Dakes stand accused of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and arson in the death of 67-year-old Edward Stephen Koza, according to Anne Arundel County Police.

Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.

Cops and fire personnel responded around 9:25 p.m. on May 24 to a vehicle fire outside the Tropic Bay Water Gardens business in Davidsonville, which is just outside Annapolis. After crews extinguished the fire, they found Koza’s body tied up and with duct tape covering his mouth, police said. Authorities could smell gasoline with a melted container nearby and determined that the suspects intentionally set the fire.

Local Washington, D.C., Fox affiliate WTTG and CBS affiliate WUSA obtained criminal complaints that show how cops put the case together and identified the teen couple as suspects. Cops reportedly believe Koza was alone in the store around 5:30 p.m. on the day in question when Poole and Dakes attacked him.

After a struggle, Poole and Dakes allegedly tied up the victim and stuffed him in his car. The suspects then drove around with Koza in the car and eventually made their way to a gas station around 9 p.m., police said. Surveillance video reportedly showed a woman getting out of the passenger seat of Koza’s car and entering the gas station. The driver wore a Bass Pro Shops hat and a flannel shirt. The woman slipped the clerk two $5 bills, which authorities believe were for the gasoline used to fuel the deadly fire.

More from Law&Crime: Man doused his child’s mom in gasoline and set her ablaze in fire attack, causing ‘severe burns’ that led to multiple surgeries, cops say

The suspects drove back to Koza’s business and allegedly lit the car on fire with Koza still inside. Authorities reportedly found a Bass Pro Shops hat next to the burned vehicle. Authorities used surveillance video from the Bass Pro Shops store to identify Poole and Dakes as suspects from earlier in the day, when Poole bought the ubiquitous hat and flannel shirt, the affidavit reportedly said.

Baltimore Fox affiliate WBFF obtained charging documents that show cops believe the motive for the crime is robbery. Poole worked as an employee at Koza’s store for about two weekends last year, the documents reportedly said.

Share and Follow
You May Also Like

‘This baby died in a car’: Child Services Worker Admits to Leaving Tot Inside Hot Car for 5 Hours, Following Visitation with Dad

New details have emerged in connection with a 3-year-old Alabama boy who…

Judge Appointed by Trump Uses Supreme Court’s ‘Shadow Docket’

President Donald Trump speaks after signing a bill blocking California”s rule banning…

WANTED: TN Police Identify Suspect After Discovering 4 Dead Bodies, Baby Left in Stranger’s Yard

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday that they are searching for…

Man with Three Drug Charges in Four Months Shot by Deputies After Shooting at Them

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On July 29, Samuel Edgardo Rivera, 44,…

24-Year-Old Gamer Boy Fatally Beats Mom With Hammer, Confesses to Gamer Friend

A Texas man has been charged with murder in the fatal attack…

Delta Pilot & Ex-Girlfriend Sexually Abused Her Daughter for 5 Years

An airline pilot who was arrested last week in California was arrested…

Man Accused of Holding Woman Hostage in RVs for Several Months

Inset: Winston Eccleston (Haywood County Sheriff”s Office). Background: The area where Eccleston…

Suspect in Infant’s Family Murder Had Known the Victims: District Attorney

Left inset: Austin Drummond (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation). Center inset: The 7-month-old…