Defendant accused of Voshell shooting death gets bail

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Eric Voshell was killed in a gang-related incident in Fall River.

The Taunton man accused in the shooting death of Eric Voshell at a Fall River biker bar has been granted bail by the judge in the case. Voshell, an Oak Bluffs firefighter and a member of the Sidewinders motorcycle gang, was killed a year ago.

Joseph (“JoJo”) Noe was granted $50,000 cash bail with GPS monitoring after his defense attorney, Rob Galibois, successfully argued that the prosecution’s charge of first-degree murder fails to show premeditation. Galibois is arguing that Noe acted in defense of his uncle, who was badly beaten in the chaotic scene outside JC’s Cafe when members of the Sidewinders and Outlaws — two rival motorcycle gangs — clashed.

In her decision, Judge Renee Dupuis states that the video evidence in the case shows a chaotic scene with members of the Outlaws outnumbered by the Sidewinders, who were armed with brass knuckles, cylindrical objects, and knives. Noe showed some restraint before pulling the trigger five times. “When [a woman] appeared to be pleading for calm, one of the 

Sidewinders swung a hammer at her face. Noe took out his firearm and pointed it toward the ground,” Dupuis wrote.

When he noticed his uncle getting beaten, he fired the gun. 

Based on the evidence provided during a two-day hearing, the judge found that there is reason to believe that the prosecution will have a difficult time proving first-degree murder. “The commonwealth offered no evidence of previous specific disputes or particular motive for the incident which would suggest that the incident was planned by Noe. There is ample evidence that the additional Sidewinders were summoned to the scene,” the judge wrote.

For that reason, she wrote, Noe should be granted bail. “The facts of this case call into serious question the strength of the commonwealth’s case, given the lack of evidence tending to support the commonwealth ‘s ability to prove that the defendant did not act in proper defense of another,” Dupuis wrote. With jury trials put on hold because of COVID-19, she wrote that it’s unclear when the Noe case will go to trial. She wrote, “He could be incarcerated for several years on charges for which he may very well eventually be acquitted.”

Galibois told The Times a family member is in the process of getting money together to post bail for Noe.

“We are thankful for the judge’s decision on bail, and we completely agree that he should have received a bail,” Galibois said. “We are looking forward to proceeding ahead with the ‘defense of another.’”

A spokesman for Bristol County DA Thomas Quinn III could not be immediately reached for comment.