Man Who Stole Beyoncé’s Unreleased Music Sentenced to Two Years in Prison

There are few artists in pop who keep material as tightly controlled as Beyoncé. Her music rarely leaks. She has also made the surprise album release part of her operating method, dropping full-length projects without warning more than once. So when unreleased Beyoncé files were stolen in Atlanta last summer, it became a serious case. This morning, the man accused in that theft was sentenced to two years in prison.

The break-in happened just before a stop on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour. 11Alive reports that the vehicle, a Jeep, was parked in a garage when it was broken into. According to Beyoncé’s team, the thief took two suitcases that contained “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.”

Police used security camera footage to identify Kelvin Evans, who already had multiple break-in cases on his record. The reporting does not indicate that he specifically targeted Beyoncé.

Evans had initially turned down plea deals. He later pleaded guilty to one count of entering an automobile and one count of criminal trespass. A judge handed him a five-year sentence, with two years to be served in prison and the remaining three on probation. Because he was already on parole, he will not be eligible for parole in this case.