Heldt

Plaintiff Craig Alan Heldt (hereafter petitioner) purports to appeal from a judgment denying his petition for writ of mandate directing Placer County Municipal Court to dismiss a misdemeanor action for failure to file a formal complaint within one year after commission of the offense (Pen. Code, § 801, subd. (a)). Petitioner contends a notice to appear, prepared on a form approved by the Judicial Council and filed with the court in accordance with Penal Code section 853.6, cannot serve in lieu of a formal complaint for purposes of tolling the statute of limitations and conferring jurisdiction on the court to proceed to trial. We disagree and shall affirm.

Facts

On March 7, 1982, petitioner was arrested for speeding (Veh. Code, § 22350) and driving while intoxicated (Veh. Code, § 23152). The arresting officer issued a verified notice to appear on a form approved by the Judicial Council, directing petitioner to appear in the municipal court on March 22, 1982.

The record does not contain a complete account of the events of the succeeding several months. However, the People concur in the rendition of facts contained in the petition for writ of mandate, wherein petitioner…