VAN NUYS : Charges Filed in Good-Samaritan Case

Prosecutors filed two counts of assault with a deadly weapon against a Reseda transient who allegedly used an automobile jack stand to attack two teen-agers who were trying to assist him because they thought he had been involved in an accident.

Sergio Gutierrez, 30, pleaded not guilty in Van Nuys Municipal Court to the charges and was ordered held on $60,000 bail.

After eating their Thanksgiving dinner, Jason Greenberg, 19, and David Becker, 17, were driving near Balboa Park in Encino when they observed a dented car in the middle of traffic lanes with the driver slumped over the steering wheel, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert L. Cohen.

Believing the occupant had been injured, Greenberg and Becker stopped to help, the pair told police. After banging on the windows, the pair forced open the car door and started shaking the driver, who police say was Gutierrez.

After the would-be good Samaritans tried to convince the man they wanted to help, the driver hit Greenberg in the chest, knocking him to the ground, and then he reached for a jack stand, according to investigators.

Becker was struck in the head, causing an injury that required 10 stitches to close.

Van Nuys Municipal Judge Leland Harris scheduled a preliminary hearing for Dec. 9.