WAYNE COUNTY, W.Va. — Two Wayne County men pleaded guilty on Wednesday to crimes relating to a 2023 incident where timber was stolen from public land.
Ronald Lee Frye, 33, of Wayne, pleaded guilty to unlawful destruction of timber. Eugene Luther Cochran, 36, of Genoa, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to remove timber from public lands.
Frye was sentenced to 90 days in jail while Cochran was sentenced to 90 days of federal probation.
Frye and Cochran admitted to traveling onto federal land in East Lynn in November of 2023 where they illegally cut down a white oak tree and hitched it to a pickup truck. Frye admitted to driving the pickup truck.
Employees of the United States Army Corps of Engineers spotted Frye and Cochran, and the two then attempted to leave the scene.
The two were traveling with co-defendant Jeff Parsons, 28, of Genoa, during the incident. Parsons was sentenced last month to 90 days in jail.
Cochran admitted that they had a plan to remove several other trees from the property that had been illegally cut down.
Frye, Cochran, and Parsons have all been ordered to pay $1,465.29 in restitution.