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KANSAS CITY, MO -
Shon Pernice, husband of missing mother Renee Pernice, was arrested for disturbing the peace in the early morning hours on Sunday. Now, both he and his missing wife's mother are speaking out.
Witnesses said Pernice was at a neighborhood park celebrating the Fourth of July with his two sons.
"He appeared to have been drinking quite heavily because he really couldn't stand up very well or talk very well," said a neighbor who only wanted to be identified as Patty.
Neighbors said Pernice left just after midnight. They said he put his kids in the back of his van and drove away, nearly taking out a mailbox. Neighbors said Pernice stopped at a house where he got into a confrontation with a man who, they say, Pernice had been harassing earlier in the day.
"I don't know if I heard him yelling and screaming, but he was obviously very drunk and there was a bottle of Seagrams in the seat of his vehicle," said Patty.
Witnesses said police showed up and diffused the situation. They said Pernice went to his home up the street but soon returned yelling and screaming at the neighbor again. That's when police returned and arrested Pernice for disturbing the peace.
Pernice spoke with FOX 4 on Sunday and said it was the neighbor who initiated the confrontation. He said when he was driving home with his kids, the neighbor threw some kind of irritating chemical, maybe alcohol, into his open window.
The substance got in Pernice's eyes, so he stopped the car and got out. Then, he said he called 911.
"There was some yelling to my left side, the children heard more of it than me. Then, I had some type of chemical, some type of liquid thrown into my face and it went all the way across the seat, it also got my kids across the seat," said Pernice. "Whatever it was, it burnt my eyes."
Witnesses said the neighbor who Pernice is accused of confronting is the same neighbor who is accusing Pernice of stealing a gun from his home.
"I mean I was loud, I was screaming. I was scared," said Pernice.
He said when police showed up Saturday he and the neighbors were yelling. "As they're yelling at me and I said 'Hey you (I used expletives) -- I'm tired of this crap you're doing'," Pernice told FOX 4.
A witness who didn't want to be identified said said Shon's two sons sat on a nearby curb watching everything.
"He kept asking his father..'let's leave..let's go home.' He even kept saying..'no violence...no violence'," said neighbor Patty.
The fact that Pernice's two boys were with him has Renee's family worried.
Renee Pernice's mother, Linda Lockwood, has been fighting for custody of her two grandchildren ever since her daughter Renee disappeared. Right now, she only sees them an hour a week.
"We were immediately concerned about the kids because we don't want them in any environment that could put them in jeopardy and as the news unfolded we felt like something is wrong here," said Lockwood. "Our whole concern has shifted to the boys. We want what's best for them and what Renee would want for them. That's what we think about every day."
Renee Pernice disappeared after New Years Day. Her husband, Shon, was the last person to see her. It's considered a death investigation, and Shon was questioned. But, no one has been charged. Renee's family has raised a $25,000 reward for information that leads to finding her or her killer.
As for Shon Pernice, he told FOX 4 he plans to pursue a complaint agains the police department.
Witnesses said Pernice was at a neighborhood park celebrating the Fourth of July with his two sons.
"He appeared to have been drinking quite heavily because he really couldn't stand up very well or talk very well," said a neighbor who only wanted to be identified as Patty.
Neighbors said Pernice left just after midnight. They said he put his kids in the back of his van and drove away, nearly taking out a mailbox. Neighbors said Pernice stopped at a house where he got into a confrontation with a man who, they say, Pernice had been harassing earlier in the day.
"I don't know if I heard him yelling and screaming, but he was obviously very drunk and there was a bottle of Seagrams in the seat of his vehicle," said Patty.
Witnesses said police showed up and diffused the situation. They said Pernice went to his home up the street but soon returned yelling and screaming at the neighbor again. That's when police returned and arrested Pernice for disturbing the peace.
Pernice spoke with FOX 4 on Sunday and said it was the neighbor who initiated the confrontation. He said when he was driving home with his kids, the neighbor threw some kind of irritating chemical, maybe alcohol, into his open window.
The substance got in Pernice's eyes, so he stopped the car and got out. Then, he said he called 911.
"There was some yelling to my left side, the children heard more of it than me. Then, I had some type of chemical, some type of liquid thrown into my face and it went all the way across the seat, it also got my kids across the seat," said Pernice. "Whatever it was, it burnt my eyes."
Witnesses said the neighbor who Pernice is accused of confronting is the same neighbor who is accusing Pernice of stealing a gun from his home.
"I mean I was loud, I was screaming. I was scared," said Pernice.
He said when police showed up Saturday he and the neighbors were yelling. "As they're yelling at me and I said 'Hey you (I used expletives) -- I'm tired of this crap you're doing'," Pernice told FOX 4.
A witness who didn't want to be identified said said Shon's two sons sat on a nearby curb watching everything.
"He kept asking his father..'let's leave..let's go home.' He even kept saying..'no violence...no violence'," said neighbor Patty.
The fact that Pernice's two boys were with him has Renee's family worried.
Renee Pernice's mother, Linda Lockwood, has been fighting for custody of her two grandchildren ever since her daughter Renee disappeared. Right now, she only sees them an hour a week.
"We were immediately concerned about the kids because we don't want them in any environment that could put them in jeopardy and as the news unfolded we felt like something is wrong here," said Lockwood. "Our whole concern has shifted to the boys. We want what's best for them and what Renee would want for them. That's what we think about every day."
Renee Pernice disappeared after New Years Day. Her husband, Shon, was the last person to see her. It's considered a death investigation, and Shon was questioned. But, no one has been charged. Renee's family has raised a $25,000 reward for information that leads to finding her or her killer.
As for Shon Pernice, he told FOX 4 he plans to pursue a complaint agains the police department.
