Two Wayne County Men Plead Guilty and are Sentenced for Roles in Theft of Timber from Public Land

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Two Wayne County men pleaded guilty today and were sentenced for their roles in the removal of timber from public land.

Ronald Lee Frye, 33, of Wayne, pleaded guilty to unlawful destruction of timber and was sentenced to a 90-day term of incarceration. Eugene Luther Cochran, 36, of Genoa, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to remove timber from public lands and was sentenced to 90 days of federal probation. Frye and Cochran were each also ordered to pay $1,465.29 in restitution.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 8, 2023, Frye and Cochran traveled with co-defendant Jeff Allen Parsons onto federal land in East Lynn, where they illegally cut a white oak tree and hitched it to a pickup truck to remove it from the public land. Frye admitted to driving the pickup truck, and Cochran admitted that their plan was to remove several other trees that had been illegally cut down from the property. Frye and Cochran further admitted that they were spotted by United States Army Corps of Engineers employees and then attempted to leave the scene.

Parsons, 28, of Genoa, was sentenced on March 24, 2025, to a 90-day term of incarceration and ordered to pay $1,465.29 in restitution after pleading guilty to unlawful destruction of timber.

Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District, and the West Virginia Division of Forestry.

United States Magistrate Judge Joseph K. Reeder presided over the hearings and imposed the sentences. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes and former Assistant United States Attorney Owen Reynolds prosecuted the cases.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 3:24-cr-161 (Frye) and 3:25-cr-44 (Cochran).

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