Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Unreleased Music

The man accused of stealing hard drives that contained unreleased music and tour plans belonging to Beyoncé pleaded guilty in an Atlanta courtroom Tuesday, May 12, ABC News reports. 

Kelvin Evans accepted the deal and a five-year sentence; he’ll serve two years in custody and the rest on probation. He originally faced charges of criminal trespass and entering a vehicle with intent to commit theft, but the criminal trespass charge was merged with the entering a vehicle count as part of the deal. 

Evans previously pleaded not guilty and reportedly rebuffed a deal in April. He changed his plea one day after his trial got underway. 

Reps for Beyoncé did not immediately return a request for comment. 

Evans was arrested last August, one month after choreographer Christopher Grant and dancer Diandre Blue filed a police report stating the trunk window of their rental car had been broken and two suitcases were missing. At the time, they were in Atlanta for Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour.

While an arrest warrant was issued for a suspect a week after Grant and Blue filed the report, Evans wasn’t arrested for several more weeks. He was officially named the suspect in September. Evans was released on a $20,000 bond in October. 

In the police report, Grant said that he had had been carrying “personal sensitive information” for the musician Beyoncé. These included hard drives that contained material related to Beyoncé’s shows in Atlanta, as well as “water marked music, some un-released music, footage plans for the show, and past and future set list.” 

At the time of Evans’ arrest, the Atlanta Police Department reported that “the stolen items have not been recovered.” Heading into the trial, it was still unclear if they had been found.