Man who broke art museum vase pleads guilty

Maximo Caminero to serve probation, community service

MIAMI – The man who broke a valuable vase at the Pérez Art Museum Miami in February has plead guilty.

Maximo Caminero was caught on camera holding up a vase from artist Ai Weiwei and smashed it to the ground.

The vase was valued at around $1 million.

READ: Plea agreement and apology

At a court appearance this morning, Caminero plead guilty to one charge of criminal mischief and will serve 18 months of probation and 100 hours of community service.

Caminero, an artist himself, was also banned from the museum during his probation.

"I think about what I did every day and I find it hard to live with what I did because it still haunts me," Caminero said in a public apology. "I know I have a debt to our society and I accept responsibility for my actions, but I ask you to give me an opportunity to redeem myself through working in the community as a way to make amends for my actions."

Caminero originally claimed he broke the vase to gain attention to what he thought was the lack of space for local artists to showcase their art.