A man accused of stealing Beyoncé’s music and setting off a nationwide crisis entered a not guilty plea to charges stemming from the theft of Beyoncé’s unreleased music and tour materials during her Cowboy Carter tour stop in Atlanta last summer.
Kelvin Evans appeared virtually in Fulton County court on Wednesday morning from Sumter County Prison before Judge Paige Reese Whitaker for his plea and arraignment on charges of entering an automobile with intent to commit theft and criminal trespass. The 30-year-old defendant said very little during the brief court session, speaking privately with his attorney in a separate virtual room before returning to formally enter his plea through his legal counsel. The theft occurred just two days before Beyoncé performed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as part of her highly anticipated Cowboy Carter tour, raising significant security concerns for the production team. Atlanta police linked Evans to the crime through digital tracking of the stolen electronic devices, which led investigators to multiple addresses across metro Atlanta in late August 2025.
Evans was initially arrested on August 26, 2025, on an unrelated parole violation, but investigators did not publicly name him as a suspect in the Beyoncé case until September, when they had gathered sufficient evidence.