The Atlanta man accused of swiping unreleased Beyoncé music during the Atlanta stop of her “Cowboy Carter” tour is expected to stand up in court and plead guilty Wednesday morning, according to Fulton County filings. Prosecutors say Kelvin Lanier Evans broke into a rented SUV near Krog Street Market, grabbed two laptops and five jump drives, and walked off with watermarked, unreleased tracks and other tour materials. They are asking for a five-year prison sentence and want him sentenced as a recidivist because of prior car break-in convictions.
Guilty plea expected Wednesday
Paperwork filed in Fulton County Superior Court indicates Evans is scheduled to enter a guilty plea, with prosecutors pressing for an enhanced sentence. The planned plea and the five-year recommendation are laid out in filings reviewed by 95.5 WSB. Evans is charged with criminal trespass and entering an automobile with intent to commit theft.
How investigators say it happened
Investigators say the break-in went down on July 8 in a parking deck at 44 Krog St., where Beyoncé’s choreographer had parked a rented Jeep Wagoneer while stopping to get food, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Authorities allege the rear window was smashed and four black bags were taken, holding two MacBook laptops, five thumb drives and printed tour set lists.
From there, investigators say technology did the talking. Surveillance footage and pings from the missing devices pointed them to a red Hyundai Elantra on the night of the theft, tying the car to the smash-and-grab in the Krog Street parking deck.
Arrest and recovery status
Evans was arrested in late August after investigators followed leads to Hapeville, and at that point authorities said the stolen files still had not been recovered, according to the Associated Press. Public records show Evans has been arrested more than a dozen times in metro Atlanta on similar charges, a history prosecutors flagged in their filings as an aggravating factor. He had previously entered a not guilty plea in the case during an earlier Fulton County court appearance, as reported by CBS News Atlanta.
Legal stakes
If Evans follows through with the expected plea, he faces the five-year sentence prosecutors are recommending and the possibility of stiffer penalties tied to a recidivist designation, according to filings described by 95.5 WSB. The plea would resolve charges of criminal trespass and entering an automobile with intent to commit theft, but any punishment ultimately rests with a Fulton County judge.
Defense attorneys and prosecutors often work out plea deals that tweak recommended sentences before a judge signs off, so the details could still shift. The court will make the final call on whether to accept the plea and how much time Evans will actually serve.
What this means for touring security
The case has put a new spotlight on how touring crews store and protect digital material, and whether watermarking and device tracking really deter quick-hit car break-ins. When the theft first made national headlines, The Washington Post noted that artists and crews increasingly rely on digital protections, yet remain exposed during quick food runs and short stops in unfamiliar cities.
For now, Fulton County court dockets and filings will be the place to watch for confirmation on whether Evans actually enters the guilty plea as planned, what sentence the judge ultimately imposes, and whether there is any sign that the missing files are ever recovered.
