A 17-year-old who shot and killed a koi pond store owner during a botched robbery in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, will spend the rest of his life in prison. A judge handed down the sentence after a jury convicted Jonah Poole of first-degree murder in the death of Edward Koza, a 66-year-old small business owner gunned down inside his own shop.
The sentence, imposed by Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Robert Thompson, carries no possibility of parole. Poole was 16 at the time of the killing but was charged as an adult. He stood trial as an adult after a juvenile court judge denied a request to transfer the case back to the juvenile system, The Banner reported.
The case drew attention not only for the brutality of the crime but for the age of the defendant and the questions it raises about how the justice system handles violent juvenile offenders in Maryland.
Edward Koza owned and operated a small koi pond supply store in Davidsonville, Maryland. On October 12, 2023, Poole and two other teens entered the store with the intent to rob it, prosecutors said. Poole carried a handgun.
Koza was shot during the robbery and died at the scene. Prosecutors told the jury that Poole fired the fatal shot. The two other teens involved in the robbery were also charged, though their cases proceeded separately.
Koza was described by family and community members as a quiet, hardworking man who had built his business over many years. His family delivered victim impact statements at sentencing, describing the devastation his death caused.
Koza's wife, Patricia Koza, addressed the court directly. She told Judge Thompson that her husband had survived cancer only to be killed in his own store by a teenager.
"He fought so hard to live, and then someone just took him away from us."
The state's case relied on surveillance footage from the store, physical evidence recovered at the scene, and testimony from one of the co-defendants who cooperated with prosecutors. The cooperating witness testified that the robbery was planned in advance and that Poole brought the firearm.
Prosecutors also presented cell phone records and social media communications that, they argued, showed the teens coordinating the robbery beforehand. The jury deliberated for several hours before returning guilty verdicts on all counts, including first-degree murder, armed robbery, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Life sentences for murder convictions have become a recurring feature in high-profile cases across the country. In New York, a judge sentenced Rex Heuermann to life without parole after families of the Gilgo Beach victims confronted him in court, underscoring the weight judges place on victim testimony during sentencing.
Poole's defense attorneys argued that his age should have been a central factor in both the trial and sentencing. They sought to have the case transferred to juvenile court, where the maximum period of incarceration would have been significantly shorter and focused on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
The juvenile court judge who reviewed the transfer request denied it, finding that the severity of the offense and the circumstances of the crime warranted adult prosecution. Maryland law permits juveniles as young as 14 to be charged as adults for certain violent felonies, including murder.
At sentencing, defense counsel asked Judge Thompson to consider Poole's age, his lack of prior violent offenses, and research on adolescent brain development. They argued that a life sentence for a 16-year-old was disproportionate and inconsistent with evolving standards of decency under the Eighth Amendment.
Judge Thompson rejected those arguments. He noted the premeditated nature of the robbery, the decision to bring a loaded firearm, and the fatal consequences of Poole's choices.
"This was not an impulsive act by a child. This was a planned armed robbery that ended a man's life."
The judge's remarks echoed a broader pattern in courts nationwide. In Utah, a judge sentenced children's book author Kouri Richins to life without parole for poisoning her husband, with the court similarly emphasizing the calculated nature of the crime as justification for the maximum penalty.
The Poole case arrives at a tense moment in Maryland's ongoing debate over juvenile justice policy. In recent years, the state legislature has considered proposals to raise the age at which juveniles can be charged as adults and to limit life sentences for defendants under 18.
Advocates for juvenile justice reform argue that brain science shows teenagers are less capable of impulse control and long-term decision-making than adults, and that lengthy sentences for minors do little to improve public safety. They point to U.S. Supreme Court rulings in cases like Miller v. Alabama (2012), which held that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Prosecutors and law enforcement groups counter that certain crimes are so severe that adult consequences are warranted regardless of the defendant's age. Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess framed the sentence as a matter of justice for the victim and accountability for the defendant.
Leitess told reporters after the sentencing that the outcome reflected the seriousness of the crime.
"Edward Koza deserved to be safe in his own business. Jonah Poole made a choice to take a gun into that store and take a life. The sentence reflects that choice."
Other recent life sentences have drawn similar attention to questions of proportionality and deterrence. Former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini received a life sentence for murdering his father-in-law near Lake Tahoe, a case where the court likewise weighed the defendant's background against the gravity of the killing.
The two other teens charged in connection with the robbery and Koza's death face separate legal proceedings. Their names have not been widely released due to their ages at the time of the offense. Prosecutors have not publicly disclosed whether either co-defendant has entered a plea agreement beyond the one who cooperated at Poole's trial.
The cooperating co-defendant's sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Legal observers expect that individual to receive a reduced sentence in exchange for testimony, though no formal terms have been made public.
The case also raises practical questions about how Anne Arundel County handles violent juvenile offenders going forward. The county has seen a rise in juvenile involvement in armed robberies and carjackings in recent years, a trend that mirrors patterns in Baltimore and other parts of the state.
Koza's store was a niche business, the kind of small operation that depends on a loyal customer base and the owner's personal expertise. Friends and customers described him as a man who loved his work and treated his customers like neighbors.
After the killing, a memorial was set up outside the store. Community members held a vigil and called for stronger penalties for violent juvenile offenders. Several spoke at a county council meeting in the weeks after the shooting, urging local officials to press for tougher enforcement.
Patricia Koza has said she does not plan to reopen the store. The family has focused on honoring Edward's memory and advocating for victims' rights in the legislative process.
The severity of the sentence in this case stands in contrast to outcomes in some jurisdictions where progressive prosecutors have pushed for reduced charges or diversion programs for juvenile defendants accused of violent crimes. In Maryland, the tension between rehabilitation-focused reform and accountability-driven prosecution remains unresolved at the state level.
That tension surfaced again in a different context recently when a former IRS agent was sentenced to life without parole for a staged murder plot, a case where the court found that the calculated nature of the crime left no room for leniency.
Poole's defense team has indicated it intends to appeal the sentence, arguing that the life-without-parole term violates constitutional protections for juvenile defendants. Any appeal would likely focus on whether the trial court gave adequate weight to Poole's age and the Supreme Court's guidance in Miller v. Alabama and subsequent cases.
Maryland's appellate courts have not yet drawn a bright line on when life sentences for juveniles tried as adults are constitutionally permissible outside the mandatory-sentencing context addressed in Miller. A successful appeal could force a resentencing hearing, though legal experts say overturning a discretionary life sentence on Eighth Amendment grounds remains a steep climb.
For now, the sentence stands. A 66-year-old man is dead, a teenager will grow old in prison, and a small business in Davidsonville will stay dark. The justice system did what Edward Koza's family asked it to do. Whether Maryland's lawmakers will let that answer stand is a different question entirely.
