$30,000 WORTH OF SPEAKERS STOLEN\Trucker, cargo hijacked in Valencia.

Byline: Laurence Darmiento Daily News Staff Writer

In a daring rush-hour holdup, a big rig full of speakers was hijacked in Valencia, its driver bound and gagged for eight hours, the cargo stolen and the truck abandoned Friday morning near downtown Los Angeles, sheriff's officials said.

In what is believed to be the first hijacking in the Valencia Industrial Center, a 35-year-old driver who had just left Acoustic Authority Inc. on Avenue Kearney was confronted at 5 p.m. Thursday by two armed men, said Santa Clarita sheriff's Sgt. Tony Hollins.

"He stopped at a stop signal, and they walked up to him and got on the running board," Hollins said. "The one said, 'Move over, I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to.' "

The truck was stopped at avenues Scott and Kearney, just a quarter-mile from the speaker manufacturer. It was carrying some 1,800 sets of small speakers, valued at $30,000, built for the Aiwa America Inc., a leading Japanese manufacturer of mini-stereo systems, according to an Acoustic Authority manager.

Sometime after the hijacking, the driver, Ismael Morales of Orange County, was bound and gagged with tape and placed in the truck's trailer, Hollins said.

Morales has told investigators the truck was driven around and made several stops during the next eight hours, before it was parked near 19th Street and Broadway south of downtown Los Angeles, Hollins said.

After realizing the truck had been abandoned, Morales freed himself and called police. The truck is owned by Rapid Freightways, a large Texas freight hauler with a Santa Fe Springs branch. An employee there who refused to be identified said Morales was shaken up but unhurt.

This is the first hijacking the local branch of the company has suffered, the employee said. Gary Johnson, a member of the Valencia Industrial Association's board, said he was not aware of any previous truck hijacking at the center, but noted an increase in local burglaries.

"This goes to show you why we have been trying to increase our private security patrols, but there is only so much you can do with these hit-and-runs," said Johnson, who owns a computer service company.

"These crooks were very brazen. We are going to have to become more cognizant of this type of thing."

The hijacking is being investigated by a cargo theft task force based in Rancho Dominguez and headed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Task force Sgt. Dewayne Shackelford said it was unusual that the hijacking took place during rush hour at a fairly busy intersection, but not unprecedented by any means.

"Two years ago we had an attempted hijacking at 2 p.m. on Wilmington Avenue right under the (San Diego) 405 Freeway," he said. "It's not beyond the realm."

He said at first glance the holdup could either be the work of a professional crew or just a group of first-timers. He said one to two trucks are hijacked daily in the Los Angeles Basin, acknowledging a Santa Clarita hijacking was at least rare.

The hijackers got away with a load of SX-NV70 speakers, which are not sold individually but as part of an Aiwa mini-stereo system, said Thomas Ragsdale, plant manager at Acoustic Authority.

The company is a leading manufacturer of speakers for more than a half-dozen brand name electronic companies. More than a dozen truckloads of its various products are shipped daily, he said.

"Whoever did this, I think they knew they were getting speakers but I don't think they knew what kind they were getting," Ragsdale said. "We make far more expensive speakers than that. It could have been (they) were just sitting, watching and waiting (for a truck)."

The speakers, which are just a foot high and 6 inches deep and wide, are usually sold as part of systems in the $500 range. He said the company did not suffer any loss, because the product is considered sold once it is on the truck.

The speakers likely either will be shipped on to Mexico or sold to small independent retailers, Shackelford said. He said it would be highly unlikely that they would turn up in any major retailer.

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Photo (color) Thomas Ragsdale, plant manager at Acoustic Authority, holds an Aiwa speaker similar to the 1,800 sets which were hijacked Thursday. John Lazar/Special to the Daily News