Pen. Code, § 786.5 · Chapter 1. Of the Local Jurisdiction of Public Offenses
Pen. Code, § 786.5
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) The jurisdiction of a criminal action brought by the Attorney General for theft, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 484, or a violation of Section 490.4 or 496, shall also include the county where an offense involving the theft or receipt of the stolen merchandise occurred, the county in which the merchandise was recovered, or the county where any act was done by the defendant in instigating, procuring, promoting, or aiding in the commission of a theft offense or a violation of Section 490.4 or 496 or in abetting the parties concerned therein. If multiple offenses of theft or violations of Section 490.4 or 496, either all involving the same defendant or defendants and the same merchandise, or all involving the same defendant or defendants and the same scheme or substantially similar activity, occur in multiple jurisdictions, then any of those jurisdictions are a proper jurisdiction for all of the offenses. Jurisdiction also extends to all associated offenses connected together in their commission to the underlying theft offenses or violations of Section 490.4 or 496.
(b) The jurisdiction of a criminal action for theft, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 484, or a violation of Section 490.4 or 496, shall also include the county where an offense involving the theft or receipt of the stolen merchandise occurred, the county in which the merchandise was recovered, or the county where any act was done by the defendant in instigating, procuring, promoting, or aiding in the commission of a theft offense or a violation of Section 490.4 or 496 or in abetting the parties concerned therein. If multiple offenses of theft or violations of Section 490.4 or 496, either all involving the same defendant or defendants and the same merchandise, or all involving the same defendant or defendants and the same scheme or substantially similar activity, occur in multiple jurisdictions, then any of those jurisdictions are a proper jurisdiction for all of the offenses, subject to a hearing pursuant to Section 954 in the jurisdiction of the proposed trial. At the hearing pursuant to Section 954, the prosecution shall present written evidence that all district attorneys in counties with jurisdiction over the offenses agree to the venue. Charged offenses from jurisdictions where there is not a written agreement from the district attorney shall be returned to that jurisdiction. Jurisdiction also extends to all associated offenses connected together in their commission to the underlying theft offenses or violations of Section 490.4 or 496.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 165, Sec. 1. (AB 1779) Effective January 1, 2025.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=786.5.
- Text hash
- sha256 74ab2c699acf7f501101e3336ca64e379e714ee2d1752d482e91672dcffc66b9
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.