“At the end of the (45-day evaluation) they will make a determination to go one of three ways,” Bruns said. “Either they will determine that it’s necessary to commit Robert to the state’s care or, on the other side of the spectrum, they would release him without conditions. Or there is a middle-ground position where they release him with conditions. Those conditions aren’t criminal in nature, they’re more civil, designed to make sure that he gets the type of care he’s going to need.”

Jeter-Taylor scheduled a hearing for March 11 to get an update on Gentil’s condition.

Before accepting Gentil’s plea, the judge said she’d reviewed a psychiatric evaluation on the 32-year-old.

Richmond Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Christine A. Cestaro said the state had hired its own forensic psychiatrist and his findings led to the decision not to contest Gentil’s plea.

“He’s been working with us for months on this case, reviewing all of the reports and medical records, and agreed with the findings in the evaluation presented to the court today,” Cestaro said in an email. “That’s why we did not need to request our own independent evaluation and concurred with the findings presented.”