San Diego

The jury considering murder charges against Herman (Rock) Kreutzer heard final arguments in the case Monday, deliberated briefly and was to resume deliberations today.

The six-man, six-woman jury deliberated 15 minutes Monday after receiving the case at 4:15 p.m. from San Diego Superior Court Judge J. Perry Langford.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Brian Michaels urged the jury to convict Kreutzer, 48, of first-degree murder in the April 11, 1984, shooting of his son-in-law, James Spencer, 32, on the Big Oak Ranch in Harbison Canyon.

Kreutzer’s attorney, C. Logan McKechnie, told jurors that Kreutzer should be acquitted and cited the “explosive behavior” of Spencer as justification for the rancher to shoot Spencer in his garage.

Michaels disputed Kreutzer’s claim that Spencer was armed at the time, saying that no gun was found near his body. He said the slaying was “intentional and willful.”

“It was not self-defense. There’s not a shred of evidence the victim had a gun,” Michaels asserted. “He killed in cold blood while that man was disabled.”

The courtroom was packed with spectators, including Kreutzer’s wife, Lynne, 35, who will go on trial later as an accessory, and his two sons, Jerome, 28, and Kurt Kreutzer, 20. Jerome also faces a murder trial separately, and Kurt will go on trial with his stepmother as an accessory.

McKechnie slapped his hands together five times during different parts of his argument to illustrate the short time span between the five shots his client is believed to have fired.

On rebuttal, Michaels knocked his hands on a table, but inserted the words, “I don’t deserve this. It’s not too late. Oh, God!” between the last three knocks representing gunshots. Michaels referred to the testimony of former ranch security guard Larry Stilwell, 47, who told the jury Spencer said those words after the first two shots were fired but before the last three shots.