Harbison Canyon

Plans to host a benefit concert Sunday at the Big Oak Ranch for Herman (Rock) Kreutzer, convicted of killing his former son-in-law, were dashed Friday by a judge who issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the gathering.

The ruling by Superior Court Judge Jack Levitt, who upheld the concerns of county attorneys about traffic, noise and fire hazards at the ranch, in effect extends the temporary restraining order he issued Tuesday.

A Nov. 21 hearing has been scheduled before another Superior Court judge on whether the injunction, which also prohibits ranch operators from staging cowboy shows, selling food, drinks or merchandise, and operating the frontier town, should be made permanent.

Kreutzer, who is scheduled to be sentenced next Friday for the April 11, 1984, fatal shooting of Jerome Spencer at the ranch, appeared in his jail clothes and attempted to represent himself.

But the judge refused and called attorney Thomas Homann, who has represented Kreutzer in the past, and ordered him to appear on Kreutzer’s behalf over the attorney’s objections. The county is not required to reimburse Homann for work on a civil case such as this.