The legal battle over a high-stakes heist involving one of the world’s most guarded musical catalogs has come to a close. On Tuesday, May 12, 2026, Kelvin Evans was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in stealing unreleased Beyoncé music and sensitive tour materials during a 2025 tour stop in Atlanta.
The charges stem from an incident on July 8, 2025, just days before Beyoncé was scheduled to bring her “Cowboy Carter Tour” to Atlanta. Evans broke into a rental Jeep Wagoneer parked in a Krog Street parking garage. The vehicle belonged to the singer’s choreographer, Christopher Grant, and contained critical assets for the upcoming performances.
According to court records, the stolen items included two suitcases packed with two MacBook laptops, designer sunglasses, and most importantly, hard drives containing watermarked, unreleased tracks. The theft sent shockwaves through the industry, as Beyoncé is notoriously protective of her intellectual property, often utilizing surprise drops to maintain total control over her releases.
Evans, 40, originally rejected a plea deal in early 2026, stating he was ready for trial. However, on the morning his trial was set to begin in Fulton County Superior Court, he opted to plead guilty to charges of entering an automobile and criminal trespass.
Senior Judge Jane C. Barwick sentenced Evans to a total of five years. Under the terms of the deal, he will serve two years in prison followed by three years of probation. Because Evans was already on parole for a previous offense at the time of the break-in, he is ineligible for parole in this case. His attorney noted that Evans is looking forward to putting this chapter behind him and pursuing a legitimate future.
While the hardware was taken, the unreleased music fortunately never leaked to the public. Atlanta police were able to track Evans down using security camera footage and pings from the stolen laptops. The swift recovery of the devices prevented what could have been a catastrophic breach of the artist’s multi-year creative strategy.
This unreleased Beyoncé music theft sentencing serves as a stark reminder of the lengths to which high-profile artists must go to secure their work in the digital age. As the “Cowboy Carter” era continues to dominate global headlines, the resolution of this case ensures that the focus remains on the music rather than the security breaches that threatened it.
