Two men indicted in 2020 bank robbery
Oct. 20—ASHLAND — The case of two men implicated in the January 2020 robbery of the PNC Bank in Ashland have been indicted by a federal grand jury, according to court records.
John C. Knotts and Willis C. Cochran — already charged in state court in the incident — have been indicted on a sole charge of aiding and abetting in the robbery of a bank, according to federal records.
If convicted, both men could face up to 20 years in prison.
The two men are accused of sticking up the PNC Bank on Jan. 9, 2020, making off with a little more than $1,000, records show.
The robbery marks another set of charges in a crime spree related to Knotts, which culminated in a late January 2020 shootout/car chase that began north of Portsmouth and ended in South Shore, according to authorities.
Knotts and Amanda Cochran (Willis' daughter) are facing a slew of charges in Ohio connected to that shootout.
Knotts pleaded guilty back in June to federal drug trafficking charges in connection with a heroin/meth ring that extended from northern Ohio to the Tri-State area. Amanda Cochran entered a guilty plea in the same case back in August, records show.
Both are awaiting sentencing.
Willis Cochran has a lengthy rap sheet himself, with a string of bank robberies in 2008 throughout Ohio and one bank robbery back in 1996.
(606) 326-2653 — henry@dailyindependent.com
