A man accused of stealing unreleased music belonging to Beyoncé pleaded guilty Tuesday in Atlanta, avoiding a trial in the high-profile 2025 theft case. Prosecutors said Kelvin Evans entered guilty pleas to entering auto and criminal trespass charges in Fulton County Superior Court. Senior Judge Jane C. Barwick sentenced Evans to five years, with two years to be served in prison and the remaining time on probation.

Investigators alleged Evans stole two suitcases and multiple hard drives containing unreleased Beyoncé music from a vehicle parked outside a building on Krog Street. Prosecutors told the court that surveillance footage showed Evans pulling a red Hyundai into a parking garage before removing black suitcases from a 2024 Jeep Wagoneer and later carrying them into an apartment building connected to his sister. Authorities said they tracked the stolen property through MacBook devices left inside one of the bags, tracing signals to several Atlanta locations tied to Evans before the devices eventually disappeared.

During the hearing, prosecutors revealed Evans referred to himself as the “King Thief of Atlanta” during an interview with investigators. Court testimony also detailed Evans’ extensive criminal history involving entering-auto convictions across multiple Georgia counties, noting he was on parole at the time of the theft. Although Evans briefly hesitated when asked if he was pleading guilty because he was “in fact guilty,” he ultimately entered the plea, bringing the case to a close.