Owner of ‘Conjuring House’ arrested in RI for alleged drunk driving

“I’m not a criminal. I have never been arrested,” she wrote in a text message.

According to Police Chief Stephen Lynch, officers received calls Monday evening reporting an erratic driver.

Police found the Lexus SUV stopped on Hill Road after 9 p.m., and when officers approached the car, believed to be driven by Nuñez, the vehicle took off, according to a police report.

Nuñez was allegedly driving 51 miles per hour in a 40-mile zone, failed to stop at a stop sign, swerved into the opposite lane and nearly drove off the road at several times during the chase, authorities said.

Eventually, Nuñez came to a stop on Wallum Lake Road and officers approached the car with weapons drawn, the report said.

Body camera video shows Nuñez muttering, “What’s going on,” as officers approach her. Officers wrote that they “detected the overwhelming odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from her breath.” She repeatedly told officers as much, according to the police report and footage from police-worn cameras released Thursday she owns The Conjuring Houseand argued with them about why she didn’t stop immediately.

Officers attempted to conduct field sobriety tests, but the video shows Nuñez not following directions and laughing at the officers. At one point, she told police, “You’re boring me,” and accused them of “saving face” by administering the tests, the report said.

Police said she later refused a breathalyzer test but told officers she had drunk three cocktails that night. She was later chained to a bed at the police station after she refused to stop “aggressively banging on the cell door and yelling,” police wrote.

In a series of text messages sent to the Globe, Nuñez claimed that she had passed a sobriety test and that police had not asked her to take a breathalyzer test.

She claimed that the police and others are “trying to put me out of business.”

“I’m terrified of these police. “I drove through a stop sign and then stopped on the shoulder as they got closer,” she wrote. “I remember being panicked and terrified, speeding up and then stopping. I knew I would be harassed and possibly taken somewhere to be killed.”

Lynch said Burrillville officers are sometimes called to The Conjuring House, where Nuñez also lives, because of traffic caused by curious onlookers. Saturday night, Lynch said, Nuñez called police to report seeing former employees near the woods. Police responded but found no one there, Lynch said.

Over the summer, officers also went to The Conjuring House twice with a health care provider to check on Nuñez, who was taken to a hospital on one of those occasions, he said.

Nuñez said last month The Providence Journal the hospital stay was orchestrated by former employees in an attempt to take control of the house.

In a series of text messages with the Globe, Nuñez referenced several medical facilities but declined to provide details. “Being thrown into institutions for complaining about crimes against me and my legitimate business does not mean I have psychiatric problems,” Nuñez wrote.

DUI charges follow other Conjuring House-related controversies in recent months. The 18th-century farmhouse was the inspiration for the 2013 film “The Conjuring,” about the events that plagued the Perron family there in the 1970s. Visitors come from all over the world to tour the property, and some even spend the night.

Former employees have said Nuñez owes them money, including one who said he was fired after Nuńez accused him of stealing money from the company — an accusation she said was based on a tip from the ghost of a former owner.

Guests have also complained that they were asked to leave based on information they appeared to indicate of ghosts. Scott Kitlarz told the Globe that he and his wife paid $1,089 to stay at the house on Oct. 21. The Iowa couple left within hours after Nuñez asked if they were content creators and accused them of not having “good intentions,” adding , “I can feel your energy,” according to an audio recording Kitlarz provided to the Globe. He told the Globe that she seemed to indicate that spirits had informed her about the Kitlarzs.

He said they brought cameras and microphones to capture something extraterrestrial, but they are not content creators. The Magic House website states that guests may bring “ghost hunting equipment,” but content creators must inform staff before arriving. Kitlarz asked for a refund, which Nunez agreed to, but he said as of Wednesday he had not received any portion of the $1,089 he and his wife paid.

When asked about Kitlarz’s experience, Nuñez texted that she “was quickly informed of their intentions so I acted quickly.”

“No one who intends to hurt me or my business will get their money back,” she said. “I will not reveal my sources who want to protect me and TCH.”

Jason Hawes, the Rhode Island-based star of SyFy’s television show “Ghost Hunters,” has also accused Nuñez of harassing him and has said he is concerned about the safety of guests staying there.

Amid the controversy, ‘The Conjuring House’ has remained open to visitors, although Lynch opted last week not to immediately approve the entertainment license for the property, citing ‘inappropriate’ attachments to the application. However, Nuñez can still resubmit her application before her current license expires in November, Lynch said.

When asked about the license, Nuñez said she will “pursue every option to run my legitimate business.”

“Burrillville will need a compelling reason to reject it,” she said in a text message.

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Christopher Gavin can be reached at [email protected].