Man pleads guilty to stealing Beyoncé’s unreleased music in Atlanta, gets 2 years in prison

Beyoncé arrives at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "Costume Art" exhibition on Monday, May 4, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

ATLANTA, Georgia (WUPA) — The man accused of stealing hard drives containing unreleased Beyoncé music from members of her team avoided a jury trial Tuesday by pleading guilty.

Kelvin Evans, 40, pleaded guilty in Fulton County Superior Court to entering an automobile and criminal trespass. Fulton County Superior Court Senior Judge Jane C. Barwick sentenced Evans to five years, with two years to serve in prison and the remainder on probation. As part of the plea deal, he has been ordered to stay away from the victims as well as the parking garage where the theft took place.

“He is looking forward to putting this relatively large part of his life behind him and hoping for a future where he can make money legitimately and be part of society like the rest of us,” Evans’ lawyer told the judge.

The guilty plea came just two days after jury selection began Monday in Evans’ trial.

Before accepting the plea, prosecutors showed surveillance footage of a red car, allegedly driven by Evans, pulling up next to the rental vehicle in the parking deck.

A second video showed the same red car arriving at an apartment complex, with Evans pulling out suitcases believed to belong to Beyoncé’s choreographer, Christopher Grant, and fellow dancer Diandre Blue. Prosecutors also said the stolen MacBook laptops had tracking technology that placed the items in Hapeville at the address seen in the second video.

Evans had previously rejected the same five-year plea deal in March, telling the court: “I’m ready for trial now.”

According to court documents, Evans broke into a 2024 Jeep Wagoneer belonging to Grant on July 8, 2025, while Beyoncé was in Atlanta on tour.

Grant and Blue had parked their rental vehicle in a parking deck on Krog Street around 8:09 p.m. When they returned less than an hour later, they found the rear window shattered and their luggage gone.

Among the stolen items were two MacBook laptops, Apple headphones, luxury clothing and accessories, and hard drives that investigators say contained unreleased Beyoncé material. Grant also told police he was carrying what he described as “personal sensitive information” belonging to Beyoncé.

Evans was arrested by Hapeville police on Aug. 26, 2025, and had remained in Fulton County Jail since his arrest.

A grand jury indicted him in October. He pleaded not guilty in January.

Christopher Harris, CNN