Shon Pernice says he’s not guilty of stealing gun

Shon Pernice denied stealing a gun from his neighbor today in Clay County Circuit Court. Pernice, 36, entered a plea of not guilty to felony theft charges. His bond was also reduced.

Court records allege that Pernice stole the gun from his neighbor, Juana Mendez, on January 31. The night before, Pernice and his children were visiting Mendez. She left Pernice alone in her basement for several minutes, and later discovered a basement door “had been tampered with” when she went to set the home’s alarm. Mendez’s husband, Julian, returned home from work at 3 a.m. January 31 and found the alarm sensor on the basement door was shut off. He also noticed that a .22 caliber Walther semi-automatic pistol was missing. The Mendezes filed a police report.

On the morning of February 1, Shon Pernice knocked the Mendezes family’s front door. Pernice allegedly handed Juana Mendez the pistol and apologized for taking it. Mendez called the police.

This is just another odd development in the story of Pernice, the husband of Renee Pernice, who disappeared in January. The investigation of her disappearance is now being called “a death investigation.”  Earlier this month, KMBC Channel 9 discovered Shon Pernice’s profile on a dating Web site.

Pernice’s next court date is scheduled for March 31 at 9 a.m. in Clay County Circuit Court, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office wrote in an e-mail.