Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 | 11:38 PM
A man described by police as Fresno's No. 1 auto thief isn't a criminal mastermind, but an addict who steals to support "a heavy-duty drug habit," his attorney said.
Robert Frederick Wollert, 32, of Fresno, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Fresno County Superior Court to several misdemeanor and felony charges in six criminal cases.
His next court hearing is Nov. 10. Until then, he is being held at Fresno County Jail without bail.
When Wollert was arrested on Oct. 20, police said, he bragged about having stolen 1,000 vehicles in the Fresno area since December.
But attorney Glenn LoStracco, who is defending Wollert, said his client is just the lookout for a team of car thieves. He also doesn't steal all the vehicles he breaks into, LoStracco said.
Wollert's six criminal cases include two alleged violations of probation, one misdemeanor case involving burglary tools and three felony cases involving stolen cars and possession of stolen property and drugs, LoStracco said.
"There's nothing extraordinary about him," he said.
In June, Fresno earned the dubious distinction as the nation's auto-theft capital, and Wollert was one of five people prominently mentioned at a Fresno Police Department news conference.
"I look forward to the day where Robert Wollert stands before a judge and receives the maximum sentence allowed," Police Chief Jerry Dyer said at the news conference.
Dyer also said it wouldn't surprise him if Wollert was released from jail.
He had reason to be concerned.
This year, police have arrested Wollert several times. He was held in jail in lieu of tens of thousands of dollars in bail, but he was released back to the streets without having to post bail because sheriff's officials released him early in February, April and May when the jail was at or near capacity. He then failed to appear at several court hearings.
After his latest arrest, Assistant Sheriff Tom Gattie said that jailers couldn't guarantee that Wollert would stay behind bars because space is reserved for violent criminals. Auto thieves typically don't fall into that category.
But Wollert was still in jail on Thursday, the jail's web site shows.
LoStracco said if his client gets released again from jail, he plans to enroll him in an in-patient drug treatment program until his cases are resolved.
And if Wollert ever gets convicted, LoStracco said, his client is eligible to do his time in the county jail.
