March 17, 2022:
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office has announced an arrest in the March 19, 2021 murder of Elijah Wood. The 23-year-old was working the night shift at the RaceTrac on Highway 441 in Watkinsville, Georgia when he was shot to death in an apparent robbery gone wrong.
As a result of the year-long investigation, a Philadelphia man by the name of Ahkil Crumpton has been arrested and charged with murder. The break in the case came in February 2022, when the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) found a match between the shell casings collected at the RaceTrac crime scene and those found at the scene of a murder in Philadelphia last July.
With the help of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the FBI, the US Attorney’s Offices for the Middle District of Georgia and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia Police Department, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office was able to facilitate Crumpton’s arrest on March 16, 2022 in Philadelphia.
Crumpton, a Philadelphia native, was living in Georgia at the time of Wood’s murder. A former Los Angeles Community College student, he transferred to the University of Georgia (UGA) in 2017 and played as a wide receiver on the school’s football team until 2019. While he is said to have last attended UGA during the spring 2021 semester, he has not yet graduated.
Crumpton does not have a criminal record. He is currently facing weapons-related charges in Pennsylvania, but sources close to the investigation believe they could be upgraded. It’s not yet clear when he will be extradited to Georgia.
Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office will not be releasing further details at this time. Those with information regarding the case are asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 706-769-3945.
Stories of the Unsolved will update this post as more details emerge.
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