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Man Who Stole Beyonce's Hard Drives Gets Five-Year Sentence (theguardian.com) 107

Posted by BeauHD from the hard-drives-for-hard-time dept.
A man accused of stealing hard drives containing unreleased Beyonce music, tour plans, and other materials from a rental car in Atlanta has pleaded guilty and accepted a five-year sentence, including two years in custody. Slashdot Bruce66423 shares a report from The Guardian: Kelvin Evans was by the Atlanta police department in September in connection to a July 2025 car robbery where two suitcases containing Beyonce music and tour plans were stolen from a rental car. [...] According to a July police report, Beyonce choreographer Christopher Grant and dancer Diandre Blue called 911 to report a theft from their rental vehicle, a 2024 Jeep Wagoneer, before Beyonce's Cowboy Carter tour dates in Atlanta. An October indictment stated that Evans entered the car on July 8 "with the intent to commit theft."

The stolen hard drives contained "watermarked music, some unreleased music, footage plans for the show and past and future set list," according to a police report. Clothing, designer sunglasses, laptops and AirPods headphones were also stolen, Grant and Blue said. Local law enforcement searched for the location of one of the stolen laptops and the AirPods to try and locate the property. One police officer wrote in the report: "I conducted a suspicious stop in the area, due to the information that was relayed to me. There were several cars in the area also that the AirPods were pinging to in that area also. After further investigation, a silver [redacted], which had traveled into zone 5 was moving at the same time as the tracking on the AirPods."

Evans was arrested several weeks after Grant and Blue filed a report, and was publicly named as the suspect in September. He was released on a $20,000 bond a month later. At the time of his arrest, Atlanta police said that the stolen property had not been recovered. It is unclear whether it has since been found. Bruce66423 commented: "Just for stealing a couple of suitcases from a car. Funny how the elite punish those who inconvenience them. Can you imagine an ordinary victim see their offender get that sort of sentence?"

Man Who Stole Beyonce's Hard Drives Gets Five-Year Sentence More | Reply

Man Who Stole Beyonce's Hard Drives Gets Five-Year Sentence

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  • in Georgia, felony theft can result in up to 20 years prison.

    • Re:Got off lightly (Score:5, Insightful)

      by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Wednesday May 13, 2026 @11:50PM (#66142697)

      in Georgia, felony theft can result in up to 20 years prison.

      Felony theft from The U.S. Capital (and/or beating a police officer) during an Insurrection - pardon.

    • Felony theft?!?!?

      I wouldn't give $0.20 for all the described contents of that suitcase.....

      IHMO, he got too harsh of a sentence for stealing worthless trash....

      • I wouldn't give $0.20 for all the described contents of that suitcase.....

        1) Maybe you should have read the article: "Clothing, designer sunglasses, laptops and AirPods headphones were also stolen, Grant and Blue said.". My opinion is those are worth more than the value you place on them even at a thrift shop. 2) The unreleased music might have been master recordings to be used in a future album. I don't know if you are aware that master recordings are worth a lot. Artists spend years and millions trying to buy back the master recordings they signed away to get their first recor

        • 2) The unreleased music might have been master recordings to be used in a future album. I don't know if you are aware that master recordings are worth a lot. Artists spend years and millions trying to buy back the master recordings they signed away to get their first record deals.

          Master recordings of a bunch of tree frogs at night....likely aren't worth all that much.

          I would be inclined to consider any master recordings of any Beyonce content to be lesser than tree frog recordings....so....

          • So were you aware that the suitcases had items worth more than $0.20?

            Master recordings of a bunch of tree frogs at night....likely aren't worth all that much.

            Taylor Swift spending $360M for her master recordings because they were worth that much according to you.

            I would be inclined to consider any master recordings of any Beyonce content to be lesser than tree frog recordings....so....

            That's why you a rich music executive then? No?

          • We get it. You don't like Beyonce. Neither do I, but I'm not making a scene over that fact.

  • Bruce66423 commented: "Just for stealing a couple of suitcases from a car. Funny how the elite punish those who inconvenience them. Can you imagine an ordinary victim see their offender get that sort of sentence?"

    I would hope so. Why shouldn't you do time for theft?

    • Re:"Just for stealing a couple of suitcases" (Score:4, Insightful)

      by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Wednesday May 13, 2026 @08:40PM (#66142549)

      Does that apply to classified documents?

      • Does that apply to classified documents?

        If it did, and if you applied that evenly, then all living ex presidents would do time.

        So ... you are just spewing random political nonsense. And you know it.

        (And if your valuable stuff were stolen from a car, you'd be calling those mean old police, and you'd be hoping that the thief would do time.)

    • It helps if you contact a lawyer to contact the police instead of contacting them yourself.
    • If it were anyone else the police would have probably just taken a police report given you a copy for an insurance claim and thrown their copy in the circular file.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by clovis ( 4684 )

      Bruce66423 commented: "Just for stealing a couple of suitcases from a car. Funny how the elite punish those who inconvenience them. Can you imagine an ordinary victim see their offender get that sort of sentence?"

      I would hope so. Why shouldn't you do time for theft?

      He got off with a very light sentence. Kelvin Evans has lengthy criminal record, near two dozen arrests with a half dozen trips to jail.
      And he was on parole when he stole Beyonce's stuff.

      My belief is that Beyonce didn't want the hassel of being involved with a trial and giving depositions and so on, so her lawyers were looking to just be rid of him and let the prosecution know that.

      • It wouldn't be her lawyers, those decisions are made by the prosecutors. Evans pled out, which in the absence of him being on parole and a repeat offender would justify a 2-year prison term with 3 years probation. Since he is a repeat offender and was on parole, he really should have gotten the full 5 in prison plus another for the misdemeanor trespass. Though presumably, he'll also have to finish the sentence for which he had been paroled. That violation is a separate issue.

        • It wouldn't be her lawyers, those decisions are made by the prosecutors.

          Her cooperation is something to consider for the prosecutors. It is not just her celebrity but her availability. When victims are not local, it makes prosecution more difficult logistically. Quickly settling some easy cases is something I would hope all prosecutors would be doing.

          • What would they need her for? It wasn't her car that was broken into, an event that was captured on camera. The possessions stolen weren't hers, some of the data on some of them were.

            Neither she nor the actual owner/renter witnessed the crime. They really wouldn't need her at trial.

            • What would they need her for? It wasn't her car that was broken into, an event that was captured on camera.

              It was a rental car.

              The possessions stolen weren't hers, some of the data on some of them were.

              The music was hers. You asserting that because she did not own all the possessions means she did not own any of the possessions.

              Neither she nor the actual owner/renter witnessed the crime. They really wouldn't need her at trial.

              Items of hers were stolen. She not being the only victim does not mean she was not a victim. Generally a prosecutor wants all victims to be at a trial.

    • Perhaps you should read a bit further and consider -> how much time <- he is supposed to do.

    • Perhaps you should read a bit further and consider -> how much time <- he is supposed to do.

    • It got more news because it was Beyonce, and the police might have been more motivated to solve the case because it was Beyonce. However, if a person spent five years in prison for stealing two suitcases from you or me, it would never make the news.

  • Bruce66423 is delusional (Score:3)

    by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Wednesday May 13, 2026 @07:42PM (#66142499)

    No they didn't have a couple of suitcases stolen. They had incredibly valuable IP stolen that if leaked could have caused very significant material loss to a commercial enterprise. I don't particularly give a shit if this happens to Beyonce, she's got plenty of money, but the reality is just because Bruce66423 doesn't have anything valuable in his suitcases doesn't mean that someone else's suitcases are just "a couple of suitcases".

    And given that the stolen materials weren't recovered it is quite probable that the person also profited from sale of commercial trade secrets. 5 years is getting off lightly for that.

    • Is there any evidence that this chap knew what was in the suitcases?

      It may have been a simple opportunistic theft by someone hoping to find something of value in random luggage. And when he discovered that he hadn't boosted a laptop or some other easily-fenced item, the stuff may have simply been dumped in a nearby alley or dumpster.

      Is there any evidence either way?

      • I didn't know you didn't have anything valuable in your house. Do you have evidence I knew what was in there? The burden of proof is on you. I should get off easy.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by innocent_white_lamb ( 151825 )

          The point, which you seem to have missed, is that there's no evidence that this was a targeted theft of extremely valuable intellectual property, rather than a simple theft of luggage, which probably happens several hundred times every day at airports throughout the country.

          The relevant question could be posed this way:

          If I steal a random box that I see on the street, should I be sentenced more harshly if the box contains the Hope Diamond versus a package of bubble gum?

          • Maybe the relevant question is, if I steal something and I have multiple prior arrests and am currently already in parole for another crime, Should I get a harsher sentence?
          • What you knew beforehand doesn't count towards the charges, though it may count for the sentencing. You knew you were stealing something, what you thought it was worth doesn't matter.

            And, as I mentioned to you elsewhere, he wasn't convicted of theft, he was convicted of breaking into the car in order to commit theft.

            I'm trying to find the German criminal code for burglary (breaking into a building and taking things that aren't yours), but I'm only finding what would be defined as trespassing in the U

          • The point, which you seem to have missed, is that there's no evidence that this was a targeted theft of extremely valuable intellectual property, rather than a simple theft of luggage, which probably happens several hundred times every day at airports throughout the country.

            The theft of the luggage is the only thing that matters. The intent to steal IP vs other property is not part of the sentencing. The real value of the property is the factor outside of intent.

    • Realistically though, that guy would have tossed the hard drives in a dumpster and pawned the laptops and airpods. The only loss would come from the value of that data to her (assuming it's not backed up somewhere).

    • Re:Bruce66423 is delusional (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Meekrobe ( 1194217 ) on Wednesday May 13, 2026 @08:03PM (#66142523)
      a lengthy sentence because of unrealized potentials when the original crime was basic theft of goods from a car is some crazy shit.

      • How is it crazy? The monetary value of the materials stolen doesn't change based on your awareness of what you stole. Ignorance is not a defense.

        • What's the retail value of unreleased (and watermarked?) music though? It shouldn't be just whatever she says it's worth. And by the way, Beyonce going that hard on a down-on-his-luck case like him feels out of character from what little I know of her.

          • In the right marketplace a crazed fan might have been willing to pay big bucks for unreleased music.

          • What's the retail value of unreleased (and watermarked?) music though? It shouldn't be just whatever she says it's worth.

            It's not. At no point is the worth taken at face value. The analysis of value of IP is based on expert analysis and is strengthened greatly by demonstrating past performance. You may not like Beyonce, god knows I can't stand her music, but that doesn't change the fact that if this music is on par with her worst performing album released it's still worth many millions. Her most recent album sold over 500000 copies (yes there are that many people with bad taste in music), and has been streamed 300 million tim

            • It really doesn't matter what you think, what was stolen was worth a fuckton of money,

              Anyone transporting a bunch of important data should a) have another copy and b) encrypt it. Does that excuse stealing it? No, but someone not actually trying to steal your data should only be responsible for stealing your HDDs, as intent matters. The value of the data should be irrelevant unless someone intentionally broke in and deleted your only copy. If not having your data leaked is important, you should be encrypting that data.

            • It's not. At no point is the worth taken at face value. The analysis of value of IP is based on expert analysis and is strengthened greatly by demonstrating past performance.

              And you believe that the police performed this analysis before launching a manhunt for the perp?

              No. The police treated this property crime as different solely because of the celebrity involved. That is the problem. Normies get told to come down to the police station and file a report, celebrities get a multi-officer police response and an actual attempt to retrieve the property.

          • I heard the watermark in the music are loud Beyoncé farts every 30 seconds.

          • 1) From the article: "Clothing, designer sunglasses, laptops and AirPods headphones were also stolen, Grant and Blue said.". People here don't bother to read the article. He pled guilty to stealing everything in the suitcases. Everyone here seems fixated on just the value of the music. 2) Artists spend years and millions to buy back their original masters from record companies.

            And by the way, Beyonce going that hard on a down-on-his-luck case like him feels out of character from what little I know of her.

            Where do you get "down-on-his-luck"? He admits he stole from her before her tour. The laptop had tour plans which may have caused

        • And then turn that around. Your assumption was that what you took was valuable. Your intent was to get away with the most valuable things you could carry. You want the things you took to be filled with diamonds and bearer bonds. It is an act of mercy to only charge someone according to the value of what they took instead of what they hoped they would take. If you think you're stealing the Mona Lisa but are in fact an idiot who only stole a framed poster, you won't be charged with having stolen the real

      • a lengthy sentence because of unrealized potentials when the original crime was basic theft of goods from a car is some crazy shit.

        Why is unrealised potential dismissed? The value of an asset is never considered based on the raw material used in its manufacture alone. There's a reason artwork is insured for millions and sells for millions despite being nothing more than a few shades of oil paint on a canvas you can buy at your local Staples for $10.

        There's nothing crazy about determining the value of IP based on past performance, and how traditionally early leaks impact performance on release. And if you want to make the case that IP i

        • imagine i steal a briefcase with the intent of scoring a laptop I can sell for a few hundred but it turns out some idiot left behind the nuclear football and now i'm going to a black site prison for stealing nuclear technology worth a billion dollars. I think it matters a lot.
      • It's not a very lengthy sentence, 2 years in jail and 3 years probation. Which is a bit light for "one felony count of entering an automobile with intent to commit theft and one misdemeanor count of criminal trespass." O.C.G.A. 16-8-18 defines the punishment for that felony as up to 5 years in prison.
        • thanks for clarification, 1-2 years is what I had in mind for first time offense.
          • First time offence could also be dropped by the judge to misdemeanor entering a vehicle, which has a max sentence of 12 months. But this guy is a repeatedly repeat offender on parole, so he actually got off very light. Well, maybe I shouldn't say that since I don't know how long he'll be in prison for violating parole.
      • And what are you describing as "basic theft of goods". Did you know that "Clothing, designer sunglasses, laptops and AirPods headphones were also stolen, Grant and Blue said."? I would imagine theft of expensive items like clothing and a laptop would be worth a felony conviction.
        • Yea that's the theifs goal, to score a stuff they can quickly sell. I'm not saying this isn't a crime, or a serious crime. Imagine getting your shit robbed on top of the burden of traveling. I'm just saying five years is a lot, unless it's a repeat offender.
          • 1) I believe he was a repeat offender. 2) It was a plea deal requiring the defendant to accept the punishment as the defendant could have had his day in court.
      • A lengthy sentence for a REPEAT offender who was currently on bail for previous offenses. When you add in all the facts this really isn't a case of him being punished because it was someone rich, it is him being punished for not learning his fucking lesson and being caught doing the same shit over and over.

    • The value of what one steals, has nothing to do with the sentence.

      I steal your suitcase - I committed a crime called "theft", I get punished for theft. Not for what ever is in your suitcase. Or if the suitcase is empty.

      Does not matter if I take your $2000 phone from your table in a cafeteria, or steal your $2,000,000 car in front of it: the crime is the same, and the punishment is the same.

      At least in Germany.

      On the other hand, if I wrangle an ice cream out of the hands of your little boy and run away with

      • The value of what one steals, has nothing to do with the sentence.

        Hey it's been a while since I saw your post. None the less I recognised you straight away by you once again saying something incredibly fucking stupid.

        At least in Germany.

        This didn't happen in Germany. And even if it did you'd still be wrong. Germany even has multiple different laws governing different values for what is stolen. You are correct only in one case: Diebstahl geringwertiger Sachen" - 248a StGB gives you a single consistent punishment for any low value item. It doesn't matter if what you stole was worth $1 or $50.

        • Punishment (in Germany too) for theft is based on an range of variables, including the value of the item stolen.

          Nope it does not.

          The only exception is 248a StGB - which is not very old and was thought to be a good idea if people steal food in a super market. Otherwise it does not matter at all, if the value is above $50, what the actual value is.
          What matters are circumstances, like removing locks or breaking into houses or if it is gang crime.

    • "Evans pleaded guilty to one felony count of entering an automobile with intent to commit theft and one misdemeanor count of criminal trespass."

      Bruce is talking crap, but Evans wasn't convicted of grand larceny either. I don't even think he was charged with it.

    • I can't imagine anything from Beyonce would be worth that much....you coulnd't pay me to take ownership of that crap, much less even go to a concert....

      The days of real music are long gone.....

    • Sure, now apply that equally across rich and poor people and I will listen. If you deny someone health care they paid for through premiums and they die, shouldn't you be charged with murder under your reasoning?

    • No they didn't have a couple of suitcases stolen.

      Yes they did have two suitcases stolen. It's right there in the report. Now in those suitcases there was valuable IP. But if you read the article, other things were also stolen. "Clothing, designer sunglasses, laptops and AirPods headphones were also stolen, Grant and Blue said." Not sure why you are unnecessarily reframing the situation.

  • Justice for some.... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by WolfgangVL ( 3494585 ) on Wednesday May 13, 2026 @08:13PM (#66142527)

    When my car gets broken into the cops shrug. Once I was told I can fill out a report but it's "not going to be a priority"

    Seems the rich and famous get a different justice system on both ends.

    • Re:Justice for some.... (Score:4, Funny)

      by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Wednesday May 13, 2026 @08:43PM (#66142551)

      Leads, yeah, sure. I'll just check with the boys down at the crime lab, they've got four more detectives working on the case. They got us working in shifts!

    • Next time file the report through a lawyer.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      When my car gets broken into the cops shrug. Once I was told I can fill out a report but it's "not going to be a priority"

      That's because for the most part, insurance will cover the loss. So filing the report is merely a formality for the insurance company to pay you out.

      And chances are, the dollar value of what was stolen wasn't enough to put much manpower into it. You aren't going to do more than accept the report if the most valuable thing stolen was a $1000 laptop. How much effort and cost are you willin

      • That's because for the most part, insurance will cover the loss

        Insurance doesn't cover not getting to work. It might help pay for a rental car, but my insurance rental car amount won't completely cover even an econobox, even though I have an employee discount for car rental (my employer has a deal with one of the rental companies.) And even then I still have to wait for a rental car to show up.

    • The moral of the story is, "Don't steal from rich assholes. Steal from poor, good people."
    • Welcome to reality!
    • Was your car broken into in a parking garage with cameras that caught the incident? Did they steal something that could be tracked?

    • When my car gets broken into the cops shrug. Once I was told I can fill out a report but it's "not going to be a priority"

      Seems the rich and famous get a different justice system on both ends.

      Did they steal stuff worth millions?

      Though, of course, this raises the question of why someone would leave valuable masters in a suitcase in an unoccupied core.

  • Who Cares (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Bahbus ( 1180627 ) on Wednesday May 13, 2026 @08:48PM (#66142557) Homepage

    Beyonce, and "her" music, is overrated. Also not at all relevant or interesting news for this site.

    • Beyonce, and "her" music, is overrated. Also not at all relevant or interesting news for this site.

      Why the scare quotes? Are you uncertain if she's a woman? Or do you not understand how to use quotation marks?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Bahbus ( 1180627 )

        Are you a moron? Or do you just not know all the ways to use quotation marks? It's because the music isn't really hers you nitwit.

  • K-Y Jelly in jail that yes.

  • Not his first time (Score:5, Informative)

    by clovis ( 4684 ) on Wednesday May 13, 2026 @10:09PM (#66142603)

    Kelvin Evans has lengthy criminal record, near two dozen arrests and was on parole when he stole Beyonce's stuff.

  • Bruce66423 commented: "Just for stealing a couple of suitcases from a car. Funny how the elite punish those who inconvenience them. Can you imagine an ordinary victim see their offender get that sort of sentence?"

    An "ordinary victim"'s suitcases wouldn't be as valuable, frankly.
    • And he wasn't convicted of taking anything. He pled guilty to "entering an automobile with intent to commit theft and misdemeanor trespass". Breaking into a car can get you up to 5 years in prison, misdemeanor trespass can get you a year in jail, he got 2 years in prison and 3 years probation. Probably because he pled out.
  • "Just for stealing a couple of suitcases from a car. Funny how the elite punish those who inconvenience them. Can you imagine an ordinary victim see their offender get that sort of sentence?" Yeah buddy, considering the value of the property that was stolen, the crime was clearly premeditated, and this was done purely out of greed, 5 years is light. Im no Beyonce fan but she has worked hard to get where she is at and quite frankly, grand theft of this scale deserves more time and restitution considering th

    • The "value" has nothing to do with the "crime".

      You steal $1 tips I left on the table or my $2,000,000 million helicopter: same crime, same punishment.

      • That prosecution strategy would have very real unintended consequences. Mainly, stealing a loaf of bread would get you 10 years in prison. Trust me, if you think any society would be willing to punish stealing multi-million dollar items with 6-months suspended sentences, you are deluding yourself. You want tiered levels of punishments, it prevents the low end crimes from being punished harshly.

      • It absolutely does! In Georgia, a good example since that's where this story takes place, theft worth $1500 or less is "Misdemeanor theft", punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $1000 fine. Over $1500 is "felony theft", punishable by up to 2 years (if less than $25,000) in prison. Over $25,000, the prison term can be up to 20 years.

        Same basic act - theft - but different legal definitions and punishments, so under the law they are different crimes with different punishments.

        • Yes, under your idiotic law in this particular state.

          In most of the world there is no difference.

          If you put a wallet in a restaurant on the table, and forget it when you go to toilet, I take it: how should I know how much money is inside? Before I stole it, of course ...

          • And New York, and California, and 47 other States, and Canada, and the UK, and France, and...

            To give you some idea - https://sentencingcouncil.org.... [sentencingcouncil.org.uk]

            You'll note that while premeditation counts, knowing in advance the value of what is stolen is not. That isn't considered at all. Value and harm are the relevant factors. Steal my wallet from the table and it has 400 Pounds (can't do the symbol), that's a category 4 offence. Beat me up and take the 400, it's category 3. Steal it from the table and it

  • Did he rob the car? (Can you rob a car?)
    Or did he burglar into a car?
    Or did he steal from a car?

    5 years for stealing is a bit harsh ...

    5 years for robbery? ... in Germany minimum sentence for robbery is 6 years.

    Why stealing and breaking into a car and damaging it is not the way ... robbery is a completely different caliber of a crime!

    • "Evans pleaded guilty to one felony count of entering an automobile with intent to commit theft and one misdemeanor count of criminal trespass."
      The penalty in Georgia for "felony entering an automobile with intent to commit theft" is a prison sentence of 1 to 5 years. It is treated like burglary. That said, a judge can decide that a lesser incident can be charged as a misdemeanor instead, which would limit the jail sentence to 1 year.

      Also, people are robbed, buildings are burgled, both are kinds of the

      • Well, as I said legal words have a meaning.
        Breaking into a car is most certain similar to breaking into a house, and similar to burlaring.

        However robbery means: you use threat or violence to get an item a person does not want to give away.

        So, if I hold a bag under my arm, and you snatch it and run away, that is a (mild?) case of robbery. If you wait behind a corner, threaten me and make me hand it over: a not so mild form of robbery, depending if you show a weapon ... even worse!

        If I sit on a bench and bac

        • Those are all classes of theft. And, they are not all of the classes of theft.

          I'll use UK law, since I have that open. The Theft act of 1968 defines theft thusly: "A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it; and “thief” and “steal” shall be construed accordingly."

          It then defines Robbery as "A person is guilty of robbery if he steals, and immediately before or at the time o

  • The perp is so ashamed of what he drives that we can know his name but not what car he drives ?

    I think we can assume it's a Capri.

  • Wow (Score:3)

    by ThurstonMoore ( 605470 ) on Thursday May 14, 2026 @09:04AM (#66143001)

    5 years. Don't fuck with rich people.

    • Beyonce got more exposure because the police wanted to solve her case. If someone stole two suitcases from you, and they got 5 years, would you protest?

  • Here's the proper title: Police actually investigate car theft as it affected rich person and consequences applied.

    As usual, do whatever you want, but heaven help you if you steal from a noble.

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