Perry

The People of the State of California appeal from an order of the superior court dismissing an information charging Donald Joseph Perry with petit theft with prior conviction of petit theft.

The basis of the court’s ruling was that it had no jurisdiction for petit larceny may not be considered so as to sustain a prosecution under section 666 of the Penal Code.

The section provides:

The information filed in this case reads in part: “Donald Joseph Perry, before the commission of the offense herein-above set forth was convicted of petty theft, Las Vegas, State of Nevada, in 1956.”

The sole question presented on this appeal is whether or not a prior petit theft conviction in a foreign state is to be considered in determining whether or not section 666 of the Penal Code is applicable.

We have concluded that the trial court erred in ordering that the information be dismissed. In the trial court’s opinion a prior foreign offense does not constitute a “prior” within the purview of section 666. The court reached this conclusion by reading part of section 668 of the Penal Code into section 666. Section 668 of the Penal Code reads as follows: “Every person who has been convicted in any…