The man set to go to trial for the July 2025 theft of unreleased Beyoncé music has been sentenced to two years in prison after a last-minute guilty plea.
On Tuesday (May 12), just as his trial was scheduled to start, Kelvin Evans took a plea deal offered by prosecutors and accepted by the case’s judge. The deal, as mentioned, landed him two years in prison — four less than the maximum he was facing if convicted at trial.
Last year, Evans, stole a flash drive containing never-before-heard material by the 35-time Grammy winner while she was performing an Atlanta date of the Cowboy Carter Tour. Beyoncé performed at the city’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for four non-consecutive nights, and the theft happened on July 8.
At the time, two individuals who told authorities that they were members of Beyoncé’s tour crew reported two suitcases missing from their black Jeep Wagoneer. The vehicle was parked in the Krog Street parking garage and a window was damaged.
After initially pleading not guilty to the crime in January, Evans changed his mind on Tuesday.
Evans will get credit for time served since his arrest, but he has a history of crimes, including a parole violation and over a half-dozen car break-in cases. While in court on Tuesday (May 12), prosecutors played a surveillance video that showed Evans forcibly entering the Jeep Wagoner in the Krog Street parking garage. The legal team, however, admitted to feeling a "sense of uncertainty as it relates to a jury trial" before offering the plea deal.
"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," said Evans’ defense attorney.
Following Evans’ prison term, he will serve three years on probation. He is not eligible for parole because he was sentenced as a recidivist.
Despite the stolen music setback, the Cowboy Carter Tour was as a box office success, earning $407.6 million across 32 shows worldwide.
