Two Wayne County men have admitted guilt and received sentencing for their involvement in the removal of timber from public land. Ronald Lee Frye, aged 33 from Wayne, admitted to unlawful destruction of timber and received a 90-day incarceration sentence. Meanwhile, Eugene Luther Cochran, aged 36 from Genoa, acknowledged conspiracy to remove timber from public lands, resulting in a sentence of 90 days of federal probation. Both were also required to pay restitution amounting to $1,465.29 each.
Court documents reveal that on November 8, 2023, Frye and Cochran, accompanied by co-defendant Jeff Allen Parsons, headed onto federal land in East Lynn. During this venture, they unlawfully cut a white oak tree and used a pickup truck to transport it from the site. Frye confessed to operating the pickup, while Cochran admitted that their intent was to take additional trees that had been illegally felled from the area. They were observed by employees of the United States Army Corps of Engineers and subsequently attempted to flee.
Parsons, 28, from Genoa, had been already sentenced on March 24, 2025, to a 90-day incarceration. He too was ordered to pay restitution of $1,465.29 after pleading guilty to unlawful destruction of timber.
This announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston, who praised the efforts of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District, and the West Virginia Division of Forestry in their investigation.
The hearings were overseen by United States Magistrate Judge Joseph K. Reeder, who also imposed the sentences. The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes and former Assistant United States Attorney Owen Reynolds.
Further details alongside related court documents can be accessed on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia and through PACER by looking up Case Nos. 3:24-cr-161 (Frye) and 3:25-cr-44 (Cochran).
