HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A pair of Wayne County men have been brought to justice for their roles in the theft of timber from public land.
A federal court has sentenced Ronald Lee Frye, 33, of Wayne, to a 90-day term of incarceration after he pleaded guilty to unlawful destruction of timber. Frye was also ordered to pay $1,465.29 in restitution.
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. Cochran was 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 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.
Related Federal Cases
- Adam Joseph Neal Graham, Excessive Force Beating, West Virginia 2015 · Kentucky
- Andrew P. Nichols, Conspiracy to Impede the Internal Revenue Service, West Virginia 2009 · South Carolina
- Steven Hull, Mail Fraud, West Virginia 2023 · South Carolina
- Phyllis Doty, Wire Fraud, West Virginia 2011 · South Carolina
- Roger D. Clem Jr, Wire Fraud, West Virginia 2024 · Kentucky
Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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