Pair to be retried in kidnapping, ransom case

Two East Coast men are expected to be retried on two felony counts of kidnapping for ransom, authorities said Friday.

Reynaldo Junior Eid, 52, of New York and Alaor Docarmo Oliveira, 57, of Danbury, Conn., are accused of kidnapping a Brazilian woman and her son and then holding them for a $14,000 ransom in 2005, according to a news release from the Orange County district attorney's office.

Prosecutors say a Brazilian national living in the United States met Eid and Oliveira at a Costa Mesa gas station to initially give the pair $14,000 to help his wife and son cross the border into California.

But once the woman and her son reached Southern California, Eid and Oliveira held them for the ransom in a Travelodge at 1951 Newport Blvd.

The man asked an Orange County woman to help his wife and son escape, but when the woman went to the motel, Eid confronted her, according to the release.

The woman then called police from outside the motel, the release said.

The men were initially convicted in 2008, but an appellate court overturned the case because of an error in jury instructions, the D.A.'s office said.

The men face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

lauren.williams@latimes.com

Twitter: @lawilliams30