Harbison Canyon

The county won a temporary restraining order late Tuesday barring a benefit concert for Herman (Rock) Kreutzer, scheduled for Sunday at the Big Oak Ranch, pending another hearing Friday.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Jack Levitt signed the order shortly after San Diego County filed suit against the ranch owner, who will be sentenced Nov. 8 for killing his son-in-law.

Kreutzer’s attorney, Tom Homann, and Deputy County Counsel Barbara Baird appeared before Levitt in a closed hearing.

Lynne Kreutzer, 35, expressed disappointment late Tuesday over the order, but indicated that a benefit in some form might still be held Sunday, pending talks with her attorney and the outcome of Friday’s hearing.

Herman Kreutzer, 48, was convicted Sept. 3 of second-degree murder in the April 11, 1984, shooting death of James Spencer, 32.

Kreutzer will be sentenced Nov. 8 and could receive 15 years to life in state prison. A son, Jerome, 28, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter; another son, Kurt, 20, and Lynne Kreutzer pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact. They will be sentenced Nov. 15.

The suit by the county follows several years of legal wrangling with the Kreutzers over the use of their Harbison Canyon ranch. “The zoning ordinance will be violated if that concert occurs. It’s not within the scope of the zoning ordinance,” said Baird.