Man pleads not guilty in theft of Beyoncé’s music in Atlanta

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

He was indicted that same month in Fulton on charges of entering an automobile and criminal trespass in connection with the July 8 incident involving Beyoncé.

Evans is accused of breaking out the back window of a Jeep Wagoneer that had been rented by the superstar’s choreographer, Christopher Grant, and stealing four black bags containing the items. It happened in a parking deck at 44 Krog St. around 8 p.m., just two days before the Grammy Award-winning musician’s “Cowboy Carter Tour” kicked off in Atlanta.

According to a police report, Grant and one of Beyoncé’s dancers, Diandre Blue, returned to the car that night after getting food and noticed the window had been broken. Knowing what was inside, their hearts started to race, so they quickly called police.

“It’s really, really important information in there,” the 911 caller told dispatchers in audio released by Atlanta police. “Like, I work with someone who is, like, of a high status, and I really need my computer and everything.”

The hard drives contained watermarked music, some unreleased music, footage plans for Beyoncé’s show, and past and future set lists, police said. Other stolen items included laptops, clothes, Tom Ford sunglasses, a book bag and a pair of AirPods Max headphones, according to the report.

Atlanta police confirmed the items have not been recovered as of Wednesday afternoon.

Police said cameras captured the theft at the entrance of the parking deck, where Evans was seen getting out of a red Hyundai Elantra that was parked next to the Jeep, according to his warrant. He was then captured on video taking the items from the vehicle and leaving the scene, police said.

The Elantra was eventually tracked to the 600 block of Northside Drive, where officers arrested a woman who stated she was Evans’ niece and that he had asked her to pick him up on the night of the theft, police said. Evans was later captured pulling four black bags out of the vehicle at an apartment complex on Hank Aaron Drive, where one of the laptops had been pinging, the warrant stated.

He then put a bag in the trunk and left the complex on a bike, police said, adding that the video footage was consistent with a statement Evans’ niece gave to detectives. The clothing worn by the suspect during the break-in was also “consistent with the clothing” Evans was wearing at another location, an officer wrote in the warrant.

On Aug. 26, Evans was arrested in Hapeville and booked into the Fulton jail. He was later transferred to the prison in Americus.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Online records show Evans has been arrested more than a dozen times on charges of entering cars in Fulton over the past two decades. Other charges during that time period include theft, obstruction of a law enforcement officer, influencing a witness, criminal trespass and drug possession. He has been in and out of the prison system more than seven times since 2005, according to Georgia Department of Corrections records. He has been convicted in Fulton, DeKalb and Forsyth counties.

Evans remains in the Sumter County Prison, with that sentence related to charges of theft and entering a vehicle on Dec. 15, 2021, as well as influencing a witness and violating other states law on Jan. 7, 2022, records show.

Evans’ maximum possible release date is January 2027.