SPRINGFIELD, ILL. (WTVO) — It has been almost a year since a statue of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was vandalized in Springfield.

It has been gone for almost a year, and officials said that the future of any MLK statue is still under review.

Fernando Garcia was arrested and charged with Criminal Damage to State Property in September 2022. He was released from the Sangamon County Hail last month after reaching a plea deal, owing the state nearly $10,500 in restitution.

He got a more than $9,000 credit for the 320 days he served behind bars.

“With our historical artifacts, and that would be as such that is also a part of art and culture, so I think the statue should be reminiscent of the work that Martin Luther King did,” said Cherena Douglass, co-director of Juneteenth Inc.

This year’s budget set aside $500,000 for placing and maintaining Martin Luther King’s statue, but it does not specify if it is a new statue or the one that once stood there.