RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The attorney for a man charged with defacing a Confederate monument in Richmond says his client regrets the action. Attorney Daniel Watkins says Joseph Weindl will reimburse the city for restoration costs. Police say the 39-year-old Richmond man spray-painted an “L” on the granite base of a monument honoring Confederate President Jefferson Davis on June 28. Weindl is charged with intentionally defacing a public monument. Watkins said Monday in a statement that Weindl told police the “L” stood for loser. Confederate symbols have been the focus of debate since the June 17 massacre at an African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina. The accused gunman had posed in a photograph with the Confederate battle flag. Watkins says Weindl wants to find legal and positive ways to foster dialogue on the issue.
