JERSEY CITY — The woman jailed last week on charges she stalked Mayor Steve Fulop will be freed from jail today after prosecutors failed to convince a judge to detain her through her prosecution.

Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul M. DePascale ordered alleged stalker Stephanie Espana released from Hudson County jail this afternoon after telling prosecutors they had not met their burden of proof during a 15-minute detention hearing. DePascale said Espana must head immediately to a hospital to undergo mental health services.

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Angela Gingerelli argued that Espana is a danger to Fulop, his wife and the community, a claim dismissed by the woman's attorney, Kathleen M. Theurer.

"There is no allegation of violence or threats," Theurer told DePascale.

Prosecutors wanted to postpone the hearing for the second time pending a full mental health evaluation they said would be finished later today. Theurer argued her client should not be punished for prosecutors not completing the evaluation, which DePascale ordered last week.

Espana, 30, was charged with burglary, harassment and stalking after an April 1 incident inside the Fulops' Ogden Avenue home. Prosecutors and Theurer agree that Espana entered the house without permission and walked upstairs to the couple's bedroom that night. Both Fulop and his wife, Jaclyn, were home at the time.

There, Gingerelli said today, Espana started "breathing heavily" and told Jaclyn Fulop that Espana "had done bad things to her." The two women walked downstairs where they encountered Steve Fulop, who told Espana to leave the house, Gingerelli said.

Espana was a volunteer on Fulop's 2013 mayoral campaign.

The prosecutor described the Easter Sunday incident as "home invasion" and an "escalation," noting that in June Espana bypassed security measures at City Hall to enter Fulop's office (he was not there at the time). Gingerelli said today that Espana has previously and repeatedly emailed and texted the mayor "disturbing" messages of "love and obsession with him."

Espana had at one point added Fulop's last name to her own on Facebook, a source told The Jersey Journal.

Theurer described last week's incident in less dramatic terms. She said twice that Espana had not broken into the home but walked in through an unlocked door. When Jaclyn Fulop told Espana she broke into the home, Theurer said, Espana responded, "Gosh, I don't see it that way." Espana left the home as soon as Steve Fulop asked her to and waited outside for police to arrive, Theurer said.

Fulop "is not a stranger," Theurer said. "This is someone she knew that she thought that she had a relationship with."

Espana has previously been diagnosed with a mental illness, according Theurer.

In a statement, the mayor indicated he did not ask for Espana to be detained.

"Jaclyn and I have felt all along that while this sort of situation is certainly frightening, our only objective after this incident was that the courts require Stephanie to get the mental health help that she needs," he told The Jersey Journal. "We indicated to the prosecutors that we weren't looking for anything more than that."

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.