Swinney

An indictment was filed in Butte County on March 5, 1974. Later, venue was transferred to Sacramento County. Count I charges defendant D. C. Swinney with grand theft of five State of California bonds, taken between June and September 1968. It alleges that “said theft was not discovered until on or about December 15, 1972.” Count II charges defendant with concealment of stolen property, committed continuously between October 1968 and March 1974.

The defense moved to dismiss the indictment on the ground that both charges were barred by the three-year statute of limitations. The trial court denied the motion as to count I and granted it as to count II. The People appeal.

II

The People’s appeal charges error in the trial court’s dismissal of the concealment count. As to most felonies, Penal Code section 800 establishes a three-year period of limitations, running from “commission” of the crime. Effective November 10, 1969, section 800 was amended to require prosecution for grand theft “within three years after its discovery.” Concealment of stolen property (a crime denounced by Pen. Code, § 496, subd. 1), is within the large class of felonies which must be prosecuted within…