Store clerk died in ‘senseless’ shooting, feds say. Ex-UGA football player sentenced

Tanasia Kenney
·3 min read
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Months after his conviction, a former University of Georgia football player has been sentenced in connection with a deadly gas station robbery in Oconee County, federal prosecutors said.

Ahkil Nasir Crumpton, 26, will spend 30 years in prison after a jury found him guilty on charges stemming from the 2021 incident, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia said Monday, March 18.

The sentencing comes three years after investigators said Crumpton, of Philadelphia, shot and killed Elijah Wood while attempting to rob a RaceTrac store in Watkinsville on March 19, 2021.

Wood, 23, was working as a clerk and was filling in for a sick colleague at the time, prosecutors said.

“Crumpton’s crime was senseless, tragic and irreversible,” said Robert Gibbs, senior supervisory resident agent of FBI Atlanta’s Athens office. “We hope that Elijah Wood’s family can find some sense of healing and justice in this sentence.”

A jury convicted Crumpton on multiple charges, including murder and gun crimes, in October 2023, prosecutors said. His 30-year sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.

Crumpton, who also faces state charges of murder and other crimes, will not be eligible for parole, prosecutors said.

‘This world has lost a treasure’

Wood was “huge in statue [sic] and in heart,” his loved ones said.

He was a week shy of his 24th birthday when he was shot dead at the RaceTrac gas station where he worked, according to the family’s GoFundMe.

“He was a big family man and believed in family and always making special (efforts) to be a part of the family,” they wrote. “He loved his God and his country and was always willing to help anyone he felt was in need.”

Elijah Wood, 23, was shot and killed during a gas station robbery in Watkinsville, Georgia, in 2021. His killer, a former UGA football player, was convicted and sentenced to prison.
Elijah Wood, 23, was shot and killed during a gas station robbery in Watkinsville, Georgia, in 2021. His killer, a former UGA football player, was convicted and sentenced to prison.

On March 19, 2021, Crumpton walked into the convenience store on Macon Highway wearing a face covering, dark clothes and football gloves, according to prosecutors. Officials said he left the store but returned at about 1:15 a.m. and approached Wood, who was behind the counter.

That’s when investigators said Crumpton pointed a gun at the clerk and shot him at close range, hitting Wood in the chest. Crumpton ran from the store soon after, but left without any money or merchandise, authorities said.

Wood was pronounced dead at the scene, prosecutors said. Investigators found a spent shell casing on the counter between two cash registers.

“This world has lost a treasure,” a family member said.

Crumpton, who prosecutors said was a wide receiver for the Georgia Bulldogs during the 2017-2018 season, was living with a teammate at the time of the shooting. He attended the university until spring 2021, authorities said.

His roommate testified that Crumpton was “visibly upset” when he came home that morning, saying: “I didn’t mean to do it – I just wanted the money, I just shot him at the store, at the store,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Crumpton arrested, co-defendant charged

FBI agents arrested Crumpton in Philadelphia on March 16, 2022, nearly a year after the deadly RaceTrac shooting, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Crumpton was also wanted in connection with a deadly shooting in Philadelphia in July 2021. An investigation revealed the Glock pistol used in that killing was the same one used in the RaceTrac robbery, prosecutors said.

“In addition, agents found items of clothing worn by Crumpton in both shooting deaths and a loaded AR-15 rifle,” according to authorities.

At trial, co-defendant James North Armstrong, 35, acknowledged illegally purchasing the pistol for Crumpton, who was a client at his tattoo studio, prosecutors said.

Armstrong said he lied on the purchase form and said he was buying the weapon for himself. In October, he pleaded guilty to giving a false statement during the purchase of a firearm and now faces up to a decade in prison, authorities said.

Watkinsville is about a 10-mile drive southwest from downtown Athens.

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