Philly’s Ahkil Crumpton was on a mission to make it in pro football. Then came the murder charges.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article featured an illustration showing another football player from the University of Georgia. The Inquirer regrets the error.

Hip-hop artist Kodak Black’s voice raps the lyrics to “Killin’ It” while the football players in the video go through a series of drills on St. Joseph’s University’s athletic field hugging City Line Avenue.

“ ... Kodak moment when I come through they be filmin’ it … ”

Dressed in a green, long-sleeved Los Angeles Valley College football shirt, red and white shorts, and shiny crimson cleats, his dreadlocks partially pulled back in a bun, Philly native and former West Catholic Prep star receiver Ahkil Crumpton is like a blur in the video as he blazes through some cones, hauls in several passes and, toward the end of the 70-second clip, spikes the football with authority after a reception.

The video was posted during the summer of 2017, three days after Crumpton committed to the University of Georgia following his L.A. Valley junior college experience. Crumpton and another player, Ahmad Kent, are seen in the video training under the tutelage of Bruce Mapp, another West Catholic football standout who now plays for the Team USA flag football team.

Kirby Smart, the Georgia Bulldogs’ head football coach, said in 2017 that he and his coaching staff had “combed the country looking for an elite returner” and identified Crumpton. Once he joined the Bulldogs for the ‘17 season, Crumpton played in 13 games and caught the longest pass of the season — a 78-yard score from quarterback Jake Fromm in a rout of Georgia Tech. Crumpton lined up as a receiver on the play when Georgia scored the game-winning touchdown in the Rose Bowl that season, and he appeared in the Bulldogs’ national championship game loss to Alabama.

When Crumpton faced reporters before the start of Georgia’s 2018 season, he politely answered questions about what he thought his role would be, and at one point, Crumpton shook his head in embarrassment after he called a female reporter “sir” before quickly correcting himself and saying, “Yes, ma’am.”

“I feel like this year I’m gonna have a lot, a big role on special teams,” Crumpton told reporters. “I feel like it was perfect timing. I’m a firm believer in Christ, and I believe in his plan, so I never really doubted it. I just understood that the opportunity I got to take advantage of.” But Crumpton’s punt returns were limited in the 11 games he played in that season at the SEC powerhouse — and he did not play in the Bulldogs’ 28-21 Sugar Bowl loss to Texas.

Those snapshots from several years ago seem like another lifetime, given the routine that defines Crumpton’s daily life now. He is inmate No. 520912 at the Butts County Law Enforcement and Detention Center in Jackson, Ga., about 50 miles southeast of Atlanta, where federal pretrial detainees are housed. Crumpton, 25, remains in custody of the U.S. Marshals while he awaits trial on federal murder charges related to the 2021 shooting death of RaceTrac gas station clerk Elijah Wood.

According to Michael Simpkins, Crumpton’s federal public defender, there are no plea negotiations on the table and Crumpton is set to go to trial. There is a pretrial conference scheduled for Oct. 16. Jury selection for the trial would likely start that same month and would take place in the Athens, Ga. federal courthouse.

In addition to Crumpton facing federal charges — which also include interference with commerce by attempted robbery, use and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and false statement during the purchase of a firearm — Crumpton was indicted on state murder charges by an Oconee County grand jury in March 2022 in connection with the Wood slaying.

How Crumpton ended up incarcerated and accused of murder is a many-layered puzzle, one that stretches from Philly to Los Angeles to Athens, Ga. Like many top Philly-area high school athletes, Crumpton dreamed of going pro. Instead, Crumpton’s life was upended last March after he was arrested in Philadelphia, extradited to Georgia, and indicted on both state and federal murder charges. Crumpton is also linked to a 2021 Philadelphia homicide, although those criminal records appear to have been expunged, underscoring the complexity of his legal case.

Crumpton had no prior criminal record or arrests leading up to the indictments. His promising football arc that began at West Catholic and had stops in Los Angeles and then Athens, never reached the professional ranks. While his legal predicament unfolds, there are few among Crumpton’s family members and friends, former teammates and coaches, who are willing to discuss Crumpton’s current situation or comment on his behalf.

“[Crumpton] was on a mission to make it to the NFL. I think he was so hell-bent on playing professional football,” said a former L.A. Valley football coach who worked with Crumpton and asked not to be named. “When things didn’t go the way he had planned, I’m sure it probably broke him, and I’m sure there was a lot of disappointment.”

Mapp, who now lives in Texas, would only say that he was surprised by Crumpton’s legal situation during a phone interview last year. Vernard Abrams, a Philadelphia-area coach and trainer who played college football at La Salle and trained Crumpton for several years, was blunt when asked about his former pupil: “I don’t want to be involved at all,” Abrams said.

Jahmere Crumpton, Ahkil’s younger brother who was a redshirt senior defensive back at East Stroudsburg University last fall, declined an interview request through a university spokesman. Jahmere has been vocal about his brother’s arrest and incarceration on social media, however.

The younger Crumpton tweeted numerous times throughout 2022 and into this year — “Free my big brother” or “Free 25!” — the latter, a reference to Ahkil’s jersey number for most of his football career. In a since-deleted April 18, 2022 tweet, just a few weeks after Ahkil’s arrest in the federal case, Jahmere seemed to express displeasure with law enforcement: “sometimes i fall back from [expletive] that i be wanting to say, like [middle finger emoji] the FBI, the ATF, the DEA.”

When Ahkil Crumpton was extradited from Pennsylvania to the Middle District of Georgia and then arraigned on June 3 in Macon, it was the culmination of a months-long, multi-state investigation involving Georgia and Philadelphia authorities and several federal agencies.

The investigation into the shooting death of Wood on March 19, 2021, in Watkinsville, Ga., began in Oconee County and later expanded to Philadelphia. It was a ballistics match made early last year that at least one law enforcement official believes was the key piece of evidence that ties Crumpton to the Wood slaying and a 2021 Philadelphia homicide. Crumpton, however, was charged with murder only in the Georgia case. If convicted in the federal case, Crumpton potentially faces life behind bars — the statutory maximum sentence.

According to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Middle District of Georgia, a federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment against Crumpton on May 11 — two days before Ahkil’s and Jahmere’s mother, Keira Brunson-Crumpton, died at age 46. An obituary did not list the cause of death. By that time, Crumpton had already been indicted by the Oconee County grand jury. In the state case, he faces five felony counts, including felony murder, according to court records.

The federal indictment alleges that Crumpton used a 9mm Glock pistol to shoot and kill Wood during an attempted robbery of the RaceTrac store. Wood was 23 when he died. James Armstrong, 34, of Commerce, Ga., was also indicted by the same federal grand jury, and is charged with making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. Armstrong is the alleged straw buyer of the gun Crumpton is accused of using in the Wood murder. When a straw purchaser is involved, typically the individual who wants the firearm is prohibited by law from buying one, or doesn’t want their name associated with the purchase transaction.

Armstrong faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. Kim Stephens, who represents Armstrong according to court documents, did not return a message for comment, and Armstrong did not respond to an interview request.

Crumpton pleaded not guilty in Georgia to the federal charges during his arraignment. Simpkins, his public defender, would not comment further on Crumpton’s case. Simpkins also declined The Inquirer’s request to interview Crumpton in jail as he awaits trial.

“You rarely see federal murder charges when there is state jurisdiction,” said Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor who is not attached to the Crumpton case. “And it’s even more rare when the state has already filed charges. It doesn’t violate double jeopardy, but it rarely happens because the Department of Justice has a policy, the Petite Policy, where authorities are not going to file subsequent federal charges unless there is compelling federal interest that isn’t vindicated in the state case.”

Rahmani, now the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, cited the George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery murder cases — both of which drew national and international attention — as examples when federal charges were brought against the defendants in addition to the state murder charges.

The Philadelphia homicide that Crumpton is linked to occurred on July 17, 2021, about four months after Elijah Wood was killed. Then-Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Ben Naish told The Inquirer after Crumpton’s arrest last year that he would face weapons charges only in the Philly case. But a spokesperson for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said in an email that the criminal records pertaining to Crumpton and the July 17, 2021 homicide appear to have been expunged. Several separate law enforcement sources said when criminal records are expunged, it could be for several reasons, including a defendant acting as a cooperating witness in a broader investigation.

“By law we can’t share information about expunged criminal records with the public,” the DA’s spokesperson said.

According to law enforcement sources, Crumpton was the alleged victim of an attempted robbery in the Philadelphia case, and he allegedly shot dead a man named Anthony Jones in Queen Village using the gun that Armstrong purchased. Police sources say the Philadelphia shooting was deemed self-defense, or a “justifiable homicide.”

Five months after Wood’s 2021 death, Oconee County Sheriff James A. Hale Jr. posted a YouTube video with an update on his office’s investigation.

“Elijah’s murder is a tragedy, and has been devastating to his family, friends, and to this community,” Hale said to the camera. A poster with a sketch of the suspect and a $50,000 reward is superimposed in the upper left corner. WhoKilledElijah.com, a website created by the sheriff’s office, was listed at the bottom of the video.

“As your sheriff, it’s my personal responsibility to ensure this case is worked as hard as possible. Our No. 1 goal is to bring Elijah’s killer to justice, no matter how long it takes.”

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office also posted a “Wanted for Murder” notice on Facebook in September 2021. In the composite sketch on that notice, a suspect is wearing an American Eagle hooded sweatshirt and Battle brand football gloves.

Hale said during an interview with The Inquirer that Battle football gloves “were worn by the suspect during the [Wood murder] crime,” but that the gloves “were never recovered.” Hale also said photos of Crumpton wearing “those type gloves” existed on Crumpton’s social media accounts, and it appears that is the case in at least one April 2017 Twitter post. Crumpton is dressed in his LA Valley uniform, standing alongside teammates and wearing what appear to be Battle gloves.

Surveillance video from the RaceTrac store posted by Hale’s office shows a person dressed in all black entering the store the day of Wood’s murder with what appears to be a weapon in the person’s right hand. The person hastily exits the store a few moments later.

Hale said in a phone interview with The Inquirer that Wood and his family had planned to move to Michigan before the murder, and that the main purpose of the move was for Elijah’s father, Todd, to be closer to and care for Todd’s elderly parents. Todd Wood did not respond to a request for an interview.

Hale posted on Facebook a breakthrough in the murder investigation nearly a year after Wood’s death: “Today is the day Elijah Wood’s family, everyone here at the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, and our community has been waiting for. WE GOT HIM!” The March 16, 2022 post went on to outline Crumpton as the main suspect in the murder and that although Crumpton had been arrested, the investigation was ongoing.

On the following day, Hale greeted reporters with “Go Dawgs” and his voice cracked several times as he provided updates at the news conference. Asked about Crumpton’s fall from grace as a Georgia football player, Hale told reporters, “I played football in high school. I moved on. So I don’t know if there’s a fall from grace from that. I’m sure there is. ... Adults make adult decisions, and at some point you have to take personal responsibility for the things you do and not blame it on anybody else.”

In an interview with The Inquirer, Hale said that Oconee County is a “tight-knit community” of about 42,000, and that Hale and other law enforcement personnel knew Todd Wood from when he worked as a convenience store clerk before Elijah.

“Elijah’s dad even showed up to a couple of our guys’ retirement parties,” Hale said. “Not being able to give his dad the results we wanted to give him [during the investigation], that was tearing on us, to get the job done. There were a lot of sleepless nights.”

The turning point in the investigation hinged on the ballistics match, according to Hale. The sheriff reiterated to The Inquirer a similar response he gave at the press conference announcing Crumpton’s arrest: that in February 2022, an ATF agent visited the command post that had been set up in Oconee County. The federal agent used the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network to enter specific data, according to Hale. “Within eight hours, we had a hit,” Hale said, referring to the ballistics match.

When Crumpton was arrested in March 2022 in Philadelphia, it was a joint operation between some Oconee County authorities, FBI agents, ATF agents, and some Philadelphia Police Department task force members, according to Hale.

“We had a search warrant for his apartment in Philly, and we executed it when we knew for sure he was there,” Hale said.

Hale said Crumpton tried to evade arrest briefly, and that there was a short foot pursuit, but that agents eventually apprehended him.

Crumpton grew up in Philadelphia and played high school football at West Catholic, the century-old school on Chestnut and 49th Streets. Crumpton helped his Burrs teams win three straight Catholic League titles under former coach Brian Fluck.

In 2019, then-Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro charged Fluck with stealing more than $65,000 from a Philly All-Star football game. Fluck pleaded guilty in 2020 and had to pay restitution but served no prison time.

“My client has no interest but thank you,” Richard Klineburger III, Fluck’s attorney, wrote in an email response to a request to interview Fluck about Crumpton.

His high school accolades behind him, Crumpton joined the L.A. Valley roster in 2015. He blossomed in 2016 returning kicks, racking up six touchdowns on 16 kickoffs and 10 punts. He gained 41.3 yards per kick return and 31.4 yards per punt return — averages that were comparable to the best across all levels of college football that season. The California Community College Football Coaches Association named him its first-team punt returner, and his teammates voted him L.A. Valley’s most valuable player.

In a bowl game MVP performance that capped an undefeated season for L.A. Valley, Crumpton scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 95-yard kickoff return. Earlier in the game as a receiver, Crumpton caught a short pass and raced for a 52-yard touchdown that had the play-by-play announcer describing Crumpton’s running as “lightning-in-a-bottle speed.”

“I’ve never seen a harder worker on the football field than Crumpton,” said the former L.A. Valley coach who requested anonymity. “We’d have to slow the guy down. It would be the day before a game and we’re trying to do walk-throughs and he’d still be running full speed. He put everything that he had into football. Everything.”

But while the former coach said Crumpton had “an absolute million-dollar smile,” the young Philly receiver was not a happy-go-lucky personality, and he often projected a “tough-guy image,” to the point that things could get heated on the field if Crumpton felt someone was impeding his football aspirations.

“You could tell, the way [Crumpton] talked and worked, for him, it was football,” said the former coach. “If a kid in practice shoved him more than they should, he would stick up for himself if he felt like someone was beefing him.” The coach added that Crumpton’s intensity seemed to be confined to the gridiron.

Georgia had a roster concern to address coming off an 8-5 season in Smart’s first year leading the program. It sought a player who could potentially fill the shoes of the departed Isaiah McKenzie, a receiver/return man who left Georgia after his junior season and was selected in the NFL draft. The Bulldogs reviewed the impressive highlight tape of the speedy Crumpton, who had a similar build and height at 5-foot-9. Crumpton reportedly received scholarship offers from a few schools including Temple after having committed to UC Davis on the Football Championship Subdivision level following the 2016 season. He announced his commitment to Georgia in July 2017 and joined fall camp two weeks later. As a junior college transfer, Crumpton was eligible to play immediately.

» READ MORE: Georgia builds connections to Philly’s football recruits as the SEC continues to strike gold in the area

When asked about Crumpton’s capabilities as a receiver before the season, Smart told reporters, “Blessing in disguise. Because he’s really running great routes. He’s really good in and out of breaks. He’s got great hands. He’s got big hands for a small guy. He snatches the ball out of there, he plucks it.

“His specialty is returning, but he’s not a one-trick guy. The guy goes in there and does really well. I’ll tell you what now, he is physical and feisty. He doesn’t mind getting up in there and blocking and competing. And he gets slung around sometimes, but it’s the fight in him I really like.”

Crumpton only played two seasons at Georgia, but the Football Bowl Subdivision experience seemed to be another significant step in his football arc. Until it wasn’t. He participated in Georgia’s pro day. No NFL teams came calling. Crumpton remained a Georgia student until 2021, but he never completed a degree, according to the university registrar’s office.

But his football dreams never waned. While Crumpton’s other Georgia teammates he knew from Philadelphia — running back D’Andre Swift and defensive back Mark Webb Jr. — ascended to the NFL, Crumpton continued to train for his shot at the pros or some post-college football career.

For a January 2020 video post, Crumpton compiled six minutes of his football highlights, including when he was a Georgia Bulldog. Weeks before his arrest, he tagged the United States Football League in an Instagram clip of his Georgia highlights.

Swift, a St. Joseph’s Prep product, declined an interview request through a Detroit Lions spokesperson. A Los Angeles Chargers spokesperson said it was “just too emotional” for Webb to discuss Crumpton.

“[Crumpton’s] like a brother to him,” the spokesperson said of Webb, an Archbishop Wood product.

Crumpton had told reporters he played on the same team as Swift and Webb growing up, as they trained with Philly’s Finest, a seven-on-seven football program started in 2012. Tobias Darden, one of Philly’s Finest’s coaches, said both Ahkil and Jahmere Crumpton played for the program, but that Darden didn’t personally coach Ahkil. Darden said he had only recently learned that Keira Brunson-Crumpton, Ahkil’s mother, had died.

“Outside of football, I didn’t have any interaction. My partner was the one who coached [Ahkil] — Eric Taylor,” said Darden in a phone interview. “I spoke to [Crumpton’s] mom a few times regarding football — nice lady. The family came through our program. I didn’t have much interaction with Ahkil. He was a tough football player. I liked him personally. I can’t really speak too much because I didn’t coach him.”

Taylor was among Crumpton’s past coaches not to return messages requesting interviews, nor did the reverend who eulogized Brunson-Crumpton at her funeral service. West Catholic also did not return multiple calls and emails.

Crumpton’s federal case will play out before the Athens-Clarke County District Attorney’s case gets underway, according to the D.A.’s spokesperson. Hale could be a witness in the federal trial as well as the state case.

Rahmani said another reason why Crumpton is facing federal charges may have to do with the political implications.

“It’s hard to get federal jurisdiction for crimes of violence,” Rahmani said. “If the defendants [Crumpton and Armstrong] made false statements to federal officers, that’s a federal crime, but one that is much less serious. [Crumpton] is a former Georgia football player, and a case like this may get more media attention. Every prosecutor that runs every office is either elected or appointed, so these types of considerations go into prosecution decisions. It’s just the nature of being elected or appointed.”

For Crumpton, more than a year has passed since his arrest, and in that stretch his former college team won its second consecutive championship, thrashing TCU, 65-7. According to Capt. Richard Gandee of the Butts County Sheriff’s office, who oversees the jail division, Crumpton is treated no differently from the approximately 120 to 140 other inmates — same outside time, same break time, same phone access. But that routine is scheduled to change dramatically in a Georgia federal courthouse.

During a video interview Hale conducted with Todd Wood more than a year ago, the father said that while he has compassion for wrongdoers, he also thinks punishment is appropriate when warranted, and indicated that he wanted his son’s killer to suffer.

“It’s not out of cruelty, it’s out of justice,” Todd Wood said during the interview, months before Crumpton was arrested. “God is just.”

William Bender contributed reporting to this story.