Akhil Crumpton, a former football player from the University of Georgia, was arrested Wednesday in connection to a 2021 murder. According to ESPN, a 23-year-old gas station clerk named Elijah Wood was shot and killed on March 19, 2021, by an armed assailant who was dressed in all black with most of his head concealed by sunglasses, a hood and a face mask. Wood’s murder led to a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.ย
The shell casings at the crime scene were eventually matched to another crime scene in Philadelphia where police suspended Crumpton to be the shooter. According to Oconee County (Georgia) Sherrif’s office, further investigation led to the evidence needed to arrest Crumpton, who is from Philadelphia. The investigation is ongoing, and Crumpton remains a suspect in the shooting in Philadelphia.ย
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“It’s a great relief to finally have the suspect in custody,” Oconee County Sheriff James A. Hale Jr. said in a statement, per Fox 5 News in Atlanta. “For the past year Oconee Co. investigators along with our state, federal, and local law enforcement partners have tirelessly worked this difficult case. Although challenging, we were always confident we would find the person responsible for this senseless murder.”ย ย
Crumpton played junior college football at Los Angeles Valley before joining Georgia in 2017 in two seasons. He played in 24 games and recorded 10 receptions for 117 years and one touchdown which came in a 2017 win over Georgia Tech. “He’s a blessing in disguise. He’s running great routes, he’s really good in-and-out of breaks,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said about Crumpton in 2017, per 247Sports. “He’s got great hands, really big hands for a small guy. He snatches the ball out there, plucks it, and he’s really done a great job.
“His specialty is returning, but he’s not a one-trick guy. The guy goes in there and does well. I’ll tell you what, he’s physical and feisty. He doesn’t mind getting in there and competing. He gets slung around sometimes, but it’s the fight in him that I really like. I’ve really liked that.” According to investigators, Crumpton was a student at Georgia until 2021, the year that Wood was killed.
