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Sausalito City Manager Elaine Forbes will be released from jail while facing misdemeanor loitering and theft charges in connection with a weekend incident at the Sausalito Yacht Harbor.
Marin County Superior Court Judge Cindee Mayfield ordered Wednesday that Forbes be released on her own recognizance and voluntarily submit to a psychiatric evaluation at Marin General Hospital.
In a striped orange jumpsuit and handcuffs, Forbes, 53, appeared in court beside her attorney, Randall Knox. She smiled at supporters attending the hearing.
"She wants to get the help that she needs," Knox said of his client after the hearing.
Forbes was arrested early Saturday on suspicion of burglary after Marin County Sheriff's Office deputies responding to a noise complaint found her inside a yacht that she did not own.
A family spokesperson previously said Forbes was experiencing a mental health crisis at the time of the incident. She was reported missing by concerned family members the day before her arrest.
Though deputies booked Forbes into jail on suspicion of felony burglary, prosecutors charged her Tuesday with less serious offenses: loitering, theft and lodging without a property owner's consent, all misdemeanors, court records show.
Forbes did not enter a plea during the Wednesday hearing.
Forbes had been placed on a leave of absence last Thursday, less than a month into her job as Sausalito city manager, for reasons that the city did not disclose. She previously served as the San Francisco port director for nearly a decade, overseeing a staff of nearly 300 people.
The Sausalito City Council met Tuesday in closed session to discuss the situation, but Mayor Steven Woodside said no decisions were made about Forbes' employment.
"Based on public statements that have been made by her family and representatives, our thoughts are with Elaine and her family right now," Woodside said, and asked the public "for patience and compassion."
The next court date was scheduled for Aug. 11.
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