An Anne Arundel County judge ordered a competency hearing for one of the two defendants charged in the killing of a Davidsonville garden shop owner.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Stacy McCormack called the court hearing after Jonah Poole sent her a letter, saying he wanted to fire his lawyers.

Poole and his high school girlfriend and co-defendant, Kylee Dakes, both 18, are charged with murder, kidnapping and arson in connection with the May 24 killing of Edward Steve Koza, who was allegedly beaten to death with a decorative rock.

At the end of July, the state filed a motion to consolidate the two defendants’ cases, citing judicial economy, saying that the charges arose from a single incident and that all evidence would be the same if they were tried separately. Poole’s comment

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