Former UGA football player Crumpton gets maximum in Oconee County RaceTrac slaying case

U.S. District Judge Tilman Self imposed a maximum sentence on Monday in Athens on the man convicted of federal charges in the 2021 attempted robbery and shooting death of RaceTrac clerk Elijah Wood in Oconee County.

“This is not a difficult decision,” the judge said moments before he sentenced former University of Georgia football player Ahkil Nasir Crumpton to 30 years in prison. There is no parole in federal prison.

Crumpton, 26, was convicted in a federal jury trial in October of interference with commerce by attempted robbery and providing a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. He faces a pending murder charge in Oconee County Superior Court.

Crumpton, attending the sentencing with newly-appointed attorney Bruce Harvey of Atlanta, was dressed in an orange jumpsuit and his hands were handcuffed.

Wood was slain March 19, 2021, while working as the nightshift clerk in the gas station located on the outskirts of Watkinsville. Video showed a masked man wearing all black clothing shoot him during what was later determined to be a robbery attempt.

For a year, the crime went unsolved, but in March 2022, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office announced that Crumpton was a suspect. By this time, he had moved back to his hometown of Philadelphia, where he was a high school football star before going to college and eventually to UGA, where he played two years as a wide receiver.

After the Wood slaying, he was implicated in a shooting death in Philadelphia, but never charged as authorities there said it appeared the shooting was in self defense.

The Athens trial had a startling revelation when former UGA player Juwan Taylor testified he learned on the night of the slaying that Crumpton allegedly had committed the crime. For more than a year, he kept that information secret, according to trial testimony.

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Taylor, who was working on the UGA football staff when he testified against Crumpton, is no longer employed there. He was hired this year as a graduate assistant for Georgia State University, according to an article in USA Today.

At Monday’s hearing, Crumpton made a statement to the court in which he thanked his grandparents, his family and friends for their support and “most importantly I want to thank the Lord.”

The judge directed comments at the grandparents, who attended last year ‘s trial, saying, “My heart breaks for you.” He noted how their grandson had put them in this position, but on his worse day and his family’s worse day, “You were there for him.”

“I was hoping you were going to say you were sorry,” the judge told Crumpton, adding that whether he accepted it or not, jury said he committed the crimes.

Previously: Jury convicts Ahkil Crumpton in attempted robbery at Racetrac that ended in fatal shooting

“Your hand was on that gun when Elijah Wood died,” the judge admonished the defendant.

He also told the former football player that he realized he came from a tough neighborhood, but he had found a way out through a successful football career.

“You had it all. It’s just so senseless on why this had to happen,” Self said. “A man died for literally nothing – zero."

Turning his attention to Wood’s father, his two brothers and sister, who were in the courtroom, the judge said he felt sorrow for the family, but he had no words that would offer any comfort in their loss.

U.S. Attorney Peter Leary attended the hearing, along with Oconee County Sheriff James Hale and several officers from his office, who worked the investigation along with assistance from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

In a statement afterward, Leary said that "pursuing justice in this case was challenging and lengthy, but ultimately the dedicated collaboration of investigators and prosecutors prevailed."

Hale said his office will turn its attention to the court proceedings in Oconee County.

The federal sentence will run concurrent with any time he might receive as a result of the charges in Oconee County, according to the judge.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Former UGA football player gets maximum time in federal prison