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BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2023
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Barrow County squads make clean
sweep at Fear to Cheer competition
Both JV and Varsity competition cheerleading squads from Apalachee, Winder-Barrow, and BASA took home first place over the weekend at the
Fear to Cheer competition hosted at Loganville High School, marking the season’s last regular season competition.
Ex-UGA football player convicted in RaceTrac shooting case
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
A former University of Georgia football player
has been convicted in federal court in an attempted
armed robbery at a RaceTrac gas station that led to
the shooting death of an Oconee County man.
Ahkil Nasir Crumpton, 26, of Philadelphia, who
played wide receiver for UGA during the 2017 and
2018 seasons, was found guilty Wednesday of one
count of interference with commerce by attempted
robbery and one count of false statement during the
purchase of a firearm.
Besides the federal charges, Crumpton also is
charged with murder under state law in the death of
store clerk Elijah Wood.
According to court documents and evidence pre
sented at the federal trial, Crumpton entered the gas
station and convenience store in Watkinsville after
midnight in March 2021, pointed a pistol at Wood,
who was standing behind the counter, and fired one
round at close range. Wood died at the scene.
Wood’s girlfriend testified at the trial that he was
on a FaceTime call with her when he was shot.
Crumpton then ran out of the store without taking
any money or merchandise.
Crumpton was arrested in Philadelphia in March of
last year by FBI and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobac
co, Firearms & Explosives agents following a lengthy
investigation.
“No matter today’s outcome, there is no returning
Elijah Wood to his family and friends,” U.S. Attorney
Peter D. Leary said Wednesday. “Pursuing justice in
this case was challenging and lengthy, but ultimately
the dedicated collaboration of investigators and pros
ecutors prevailed.”
Crumpton faces up to 20 years in prison for the at
tempted robbery and up to 10 years behind bars for
the firearm charge. A sentencing date has not yet been
set.
Primary, secondary ticket sellers at odds over state legislation
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
A four-hour Georgia House commit
tee hearing Monday pitted primary sell
ers of tickets to concerts and sporting
events against secondary sellers.
Legislation introduced in the House
this year would remove restrictions in
current state law that prohibit ticket pur
chasers from reselling their tickets.
The bill is aimed at primary ticket sell
ers that prohibit consumers from resell
ing their tickets on the secondary mar
ket, state Rep. Scott Hilton, R-Peachtree
Corners, told members of the House
Regulated Industries Committee. Hilton
said such restrictions create monopolies
that drive up ticket prices.
“I care about consumers,” he said. “I
want them to be able to resell wherever
they want.”
“It’s important to give consumers a
choice,” added Sean Auyash, a represen
tative of StubHub, one of the nation’s
leading secondary ticket sellers.
But representatives of the entertain
ment and sports industries argued the
bill would benefit secondary ticket sell
ers that resell tickets at marked-up pric
es at the expense of musical artists and
sports teams.
“This is not helping consumers,” said
Mala Sharma, president of Georgia Mu
sic Partners, the state’s leading music
industry advocacy organization. “This
bill is only helping the secondary mar
kets get their hands on more tickets.”
Peter Conlon, chairman of concert
operator Live Nation Georgia, told the
committee major artists including Tay
lor Swift make the best seats to their
concerts non-transferable to protect
their fans by keeping them out of the
hands of secondary sellers.
“It’s the only thing that’s going to pro
tect from fans really being gouged,” he
said.
Ronald Gaither, a lawyer represent
ing the Atlanta Braves, Falcons, Hawks,
and Atlanta United, said a Cobb County
court ruled in favor of the Braves last
week in a lawsuit brought by a ticket
buyer who challenged the team’s poli
cy that seeks to discourage scalping by
limiting fans from buying more than 19
tickets to a game.
“These seats are revokable licenses,”
he said. “(When) you buy a ticket, that’s
your seat. You don’t get any property
rights.”
Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, the
committee’s chairman, said in the age
of technology, ticket buying and selling
has become a complicated issue driven
by big money.
“I think there is some middle ground
in this,” he said. “The problem is to de
termine where that would be.”
Powell said he plans to hold at least
one more hearing on the legislation be
fore the next regular session of the Gen
eral Assembly begins in January.
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