OCONEE COUNTY, Ga. — A former University of Georgia player who was convicted of murdering a 23-year-old RaceTrac clerk received a lengthy sentence.
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On March 19, 2021, Ahkil Nasir Crumpton aka “Crump,” 26, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania walked into the RaceTrac gas station on Macon Highway in Watkinsville, Georgia. This is where Elijah Wood was working as the store clerk, filling in for a sick coworker.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Crumpton’s face was covered, and he was wearing dark clothing and football gloves. Crumpton was seen on surveillance video leaving and then returning at 1:15 a.m.
When Crumpton returned, he approached Wood, who was standing behind the counter at the cash register. Deputies said Crumpton pointed a Glock 19 pistol with a weapon-mounted light at Wood, hitting him in the chest.
Wood’s girlfriend testified at trial that she was on a FaceTime call with Wood at the time of his death. Crumpton ran out of the store without taking any money or merchandise. Wood died at the scene.
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office found one 9 mm shell casing on the counter between two of the cash registers.
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Crumpton was linked to the RaceTrac murder after he was arrested for a second shooting in Philadelphia.
Officials said on July 17, 2021, Crumpton leaving the South Street Diner on South Street in Philadelphia when Anthony Jones approached him.
Surveillance video from a nearby business captured the moments between Jones and Crumpton. Jones pulled out a silver handgun and pointed it at Crumpton, then appeared to grab the car keys out of Crumpton’s left hand. Jones removed a Glock 43 pistol from Crumpton’s right pocket while holding him at gunpoint.
When Jones turned around and began to run away, Crumpton pulled a Glock 19 pistol from his waistband and fired 13 gunshots, which ultimately hit and killed Jones. Police collected the 9mm shell casings that came out of Crumpton’s handgun for comparison testing. The analysis confirmed that the gun used in the RaceTrac murder in Oconee County was the same firearm used in the Philadelphia shooting.
On the morning of March 16, 2022, the sheriff’s office with the help of multiple agencies arrested Crumpton.
Authorities said Crumpton jumped out of his bedroom window to get away but was taken into custody by the FBI following a chase. Inside Crumpton’s bedroom, agents reportedly found the Glock 19 pistol in his backpack that was confirmed to be the one used in the shooting deaths of Wood and Jones in Philadelphia.
Agents also found items of clothing worn by Crumpton in both shooting deaths and a loaded AR-15 rifle.
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According to the US Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Georgia, Crumpton was a former member of the UGA football team, where he played wide receiver during the 2017 and 2018 seasons and attended UGA as a student from the fall of 2017 to the spring of 2021, although he did not graduate. At the time of Wood’s murder, Crumpton lived at an apartment less than two miles from the RaceTrac with his teammate Juwan Taylor.
Taylor testified at trial that Crumpton came to their apartment after the shooting holding the pistol and was visibly upset saying, “I didn’t mean to do it – I just wanted the money, I just shot him at the store, at the store.” Crumpton explained further that when he lifted the gun, it “just went off.” Taylor said he was frightened for his own safety and did not tell anyone.
“Ahkil Crumpton’s violent crime ended Elijah Wood’s young life and has been the cause of immeasurable pain to many people in the Oconee County community and beyond,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary.
In July 2021, Crumpton went to live in his hometown of Philadelphia.
Co-defendant James North Armstrong, 35, of Commerce, Georgia, testified that Crumpton was a client of his at his tattoo studio. Armstrong told the jury that Crumpton asked him to purchase a gun for him. Armstrong admitted that he illegally purchased the Glock 19 for Crumpton on Feb. 8, 2021, at the Franklin Gun Shop in Athens, Georgia, by falsely claiming to be the buyer when Crumpton was the actual buyer. Armstrong pleaded guilty to one count of false statements during the purchase of a firearm on Oct. 3, 2023, and faces a maximum of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing for Armstrong is March 20.
On Oct. 25, 2023, Crumpton was found guilty by a federal jury on all counts.
On Monday, Crumpton was sentenced to the statutory maximum of 20 years in prison for interference with commerce by attempted robbery and 10 years in prison for false statements during the purchase of a firearm for a total of 30 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
He is also facing state charges for murder and other offenses in Georgia.
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