Former NFL hopeful from Philly sentenced to 30 years in case tied to Georgia man’s shooting death
Ahkil Crumpton, an all-state and all-Catholic League wide receiver for West Catholic High who went on to play two seasons at Georgia, was convicted on charges related to the slaying.
A onetime NFL hopeful from Philadelphia was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison Monday for a robbery that resulted in the death of a Georgia convenience store clerk.
Ahkil “Crump” Crumpton — a former all-state and all-Catholic League wide receiver at West Catholic who went on to play two seasons for the University of Georgia — was convicted last year for his role in the March 2021 slaying of Elijah Wood, 23, who was working the register at a RaceTrac gas station outside Athens, Ga., when Crumpton shot him with an illegally purchased gun.
Agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives linked Crumpton, 26, to the crime after the football standout used the same weapon to defend himself from a carjacking attempt four months later outside the South Street Diner in Queen Village — an incident that ended with his attacker dead.
Though investigators have accused Crumpton of both homicides, his sentencing Monday in U.S. District Court in Georgia was only for his conviction on federal counts of robbery and making false statements during the purchase of a firearm.
Crumpton is facing a separate trial on state murder charges tied to Wood’s death later this year. Philadelphia police ruled the July 2021 shooting outside of the diner as a “justifiable homicide.”
» READ MORE: Philly’s Ahkil Crumpton was on a mission to make it in pro football. Then came the murder charges.
“Ahkil Crumpton’s violent crime ended Elijah Wood’s young life and has been the cause of immeasurable pain to many people,” said Peter D. Leary, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, in a statement responding to Crumpton’s sentence. “Our hope is the conclusion of the federal case offers some peace for all those who have been affected by this tragedy.”
Crumpton’s attorney, Bruce Harvey, did not immediately respond to requests for comment after the hearing.
Raised in West Philadelphia, Crumpton made a name for himself during his time at West Catholic Prep, helping the team win three straight Catholic League titles. He moved to California after graduation to play for Los Angeles Valley College before transferring to Georgia, where he was a member of the Bulldogs in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Though Crumpton had aspired to go pro, his dreams were derailed after NFL teams expressed little interest.
According to testimony at his trial, Crumpton obtained the Glock 19 pistol used in both shootings from a tattoo artist in Georgia, who purchased the gun illegally for him. On March 19, 2021, he barged into the RaceTrac gas station in Watkinsville, Ga., pointed the gun at Wood, and fired.
Wood died at the scene. Crumpton fled to the apartment he was sharing at the time with his Georgia teammate Juwan Taylor. Taylor testified at the trial that Crumpton arrived — still holding the gun — and insisted that the shooting was an accident.
“I didn’t mean to do it. I just wanted the money,” Taylor recalled Crumpton saying, according to a prosecution summary of his testimony. “The gun just went off.”
Taylor told jurors he never reported that interaction with Crumpton to police because he was concerned for his own safety.
It wasn’t until four months later — after Crumpton had left Georgia, moved back to Philadelphia, and found himself involved in another slaying outside the South Street Diner — that investigators were able to link Crumpton to Wood’s death.
Philadelphia police have said Crumpton fired 13 shots outside the diner in July 2021, hitting and killing Anthony Jones, who had attempted to carjack him moments before.
Ballistics analysis of the casings from that shooting identified the gun as the same one used in Wood’s slaying.
ATF agents arrested Crumpton at his West Philadelphia apartment in March 2022, after he jumped from his bedroom window in an attempt to escape.
They found the Glock used in both shootings stuffed inside Crumpton’s 2018 Rose Bowl game backpack along with a loaded AR-15, prosecutors said.
Crumpton has remained in federal custody in Georgia ever since.