Forbes appointed 3 weeks ago, placed on leave by council
Elaine Forbes, Sausalito’s city manager, faces four misdemeanor charges of loitering, squatting and petty theft after police said she broke into a 66-foot yacht while drinking and attempted to steal the vessel. The charges, filed Monday, replaced an initial felony burglary count that carried $50,000 bail.
Police responded to a noise complaint in the Sausalito marina shortly after 6 a.m. on July 18, according to the Marin County Sheriff’s Department. Officers found Forbes on a three-story yacht that she did not own. Police said Forbes had “apparently broken into” the vessel and was consuming alcohol.
Capt. Bill Aubrey, who called 911, told investigators that Forbes had “the horn going, the windshield wipers going, the spotlight going.” The yacht’s owner, Andy Cunningham, reported finding four empty bottles of wine and a bottle of maraschino cherries dumped into a shoebox, according to ABC7.
Forbes had been living on a houseboat near the marina where she was arrested.
Sgt. Adam Schermerhorn, a spokesperson for the Marin County Sheriff’s Department, confirmed the charges had been reduced from the original felony burglary allegation. “Yacht theft is not common in Marin County,” he said.
The Sausalito City Council placed Forbes on leave last week during a closed meeting, according to NBC News. The council was scheduled to evaluate her job performance at a meeting on July 21. Forbes was appointed to the city manager position three weeks ago. She previously served as director of the Port of San Francisco.
Sam Singer, a spokesperson for Forbes’s family, issued a statement requesting compassion. “As the facts become clearer and Elaine obtains legal and healthcare counsel in the coming hours and days, we hope people will respond with compassion, patience and respect for her and her family during an extraordinarily difficult time,” Singer said.