- Man accused of stealing Beyoncé’s unreleased music pleads guilty, avoiding jury trial.
- Thief faces 2-year prison sentence, with credit for time served, plus probation.
- Prosecutors had strong evidence but accepted plea deal due to potential uncertainties with a jury trial.
The man accused of stealing unreleased Beyoncé music has been sentenced.
The man in question, Kelvin Evans, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, May 12, according to reports from 11 Alive. This comes after unreleased music recorded by Beyoncé was stolen from members of her team while she was in Atlanta on tour last year.
A jury trial was set to take place, but instead, Evans took a plea offer from prosecutors after previously rejecting deals. He was facing up to six years in prison, but with the deal accepted by the judge, he was given two years.
After being arrested in September 2025, Evans will get credit for time served. However, 11 Alive reports that he also had a previous parole violation and more than six other car break-in cases that were revealed in court on Tuesday, which makes how much jail time he has to serve unclear.
In court this week, prosecutors played video showing the theft at the Krog Street parking garage, saying that it would have been their evidence had the case gone to trial. Even though they felt they had a strong case, there was also a “sense of uncertainty as it relates to a jury trial.”
“While we believe the State had a very strong case, there are some parts that are circumstantial that a reasonable jury may have found a defendant not guilty, so that’s the basis for the plea recommendation,” the prosecutor explained during the hearing.
Evans’ lawyer insisted that his client was taking responsibility for his actions and also has a 3-year-old daughter at home.
“He is looking forward to putting this… behind him and hoping for a future where he can make money legitimately, be part of society just like the rest of us,” the defense attorney said.
In the end, Kelvin pleaded guilty to one count of entering an automobile, for which he got a 5-year sentence (two years in prison, three on probation), and the second count in his indictment, criminal trespass, was merged into the first count. He is not eligible for parole.
The theft, which happened in July 2025, occurred in a parking deck on Krog Street–Just two days before her first Cowboy Carter tour stop in Atlanta. At the time, two people claiming to be part of Beyoncé’s team reported that two suitcases were missing from their black Jeep Wagoneer after finding the back window busted.
According to the incident report, the stolen items included jump drives with unreleased watermarked Beyoncé music, footage plans for the show, past and future set lists, two laptops, designer sunglasses, and Apple AirPods Max headphones.
A crime analyst was able to locate the vehicle that was used in the theft via the license plate, and video from the surveillance footage was played in court Tuesday. Police were able to track the vehicle pull over the driver, who was Evans’ niece. Prosecutors explained she had loaned him the car, expecting it to be gone for a few minutes, but that obviously wasn’t the case.
