Former UGA football player from Philadelphia arrested in 2021 convenience-store slaying

A Philadelphia native and former football player for the University of Georgia was arrested in his hometown Wednesday for a March 2021 killing in Georgia.

Elijah Wood, 23, was working as a clerk at a Watkinsville gas station when he was fatally shot.

An FBI team and a SWAT unit arrested Ahkil Crumpton in West Philadelphia on Wednesday morning. He is being held in Philadelphia in connection with the Georgia case.

“We all know this arrest will not bring Elijah back, but we hope his family, friends, and this community can now begin the healing process,” Oconee County Sheriff James A. Hale Jr. said.

Officials identified Crumpton after ballistics evidence found at the scene of a July homicide in Philadelphia matched those found in Georgia, said Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Naish, who oversees investigations.

Naish said Crumpton will face weapons charges in connection with the homicide in Philadelphia and at this point is not being charged with murder in that case. The homicide took place on the 600 block of South Second Street on July 17. The victim was shot multiple times and died less than two hours later. Investigators found two guns at the scene. Police have not released the victim’s name.

Crumpton was an all-state and all-Catholic wide receiver while playing for West Catholic High School in Philadelphia. He would play football at Los Angeles Valley College before transferring to UGA, where he played football in 2017 and 2018 as a wide receiver. He remained a student at the university until 2021, according to authorities.

Wood’s killing on March 19, 2021, shook the county of close to 42,000 people as police couldn’t identify a motive. Wood was working at a RaceTrac gas station when a man wearing a black face mask that only showed his eyes walked in holding a pistol. Nothing was taken from the store.