Harbison Canyon

In their sixth day of deliberations Tuesday, the jury considering a murder charge against Herman “Rock” Kreutzer asked for portions of testimony by a key prosecution witness to be read to them again.

San Diego Superior Court Judge J. Perry Langford gave the jury a transcript of the July 29 morning testimony given by Larry Stilwell, 47, who said he saw Kreutzer gun down his son-in-law as he begged for his life.

Kreutzer, 48, is accused of slaying James Spencer, 32, on April 11, 1984, on the Big Oak Ranch in Harbison Canyon. At the time, Kreutzer was a candidate for the county Board of Supervisors.

Kreutzer testified he shot Spencer in self-defense after a violent fight he had with him two weeks earlier.

The rancher said he didn’t know what to think of the jury’s latest request for testimony. “I think they ought to re-read it all.”

Most of Stilwell’s testimony that morning dealt with his claim that he saw Spencer down on his knees in a garage with Herman and Jerome Kreutzer, 28, shooting at him.

Stilwell was Kreutzer’s security guard at the time and said he heard Spencer yell, “It’s not too late! I don’t deserve this. Oh, God!” between shots. Stilwell also testified Kreutzer and his son “emptied their guns into him.”

The jury also received a portion of the cross-examination of Stilwell by Kreutzer’s attorney, C. Logan McKechnie, in which Stilwell admitted he had originally told several different stories about the shooting. Stilwell said he had lied to his own attorney about what had happened.

Last week the jury requested and received a transcript of Kreutzer’s testimony telling about the March 24 fight with his son-in-law and about the shooting itself.

The requests last week boosted Kreutzer’s hopes that he might be acquitted, he said. The rancher and some family members have sat outside the courtroom most of the day every day since the jury began deliberations on Aug. 19.