‘Conjuring House’ owner arrested in RI for allegedly driving under the influence

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

According to Police Chief Stephen Lynch, officers received reports of erratic driver behavior on Monday evening.

Police found a Lexus SUV stopped on Hill Road after 9 p.m., and when officers approached the car Nuñez was allegedly driving, the vehicle drove away, according to a police report.

Authorities said Nuñez allegedly drove 51 mph in a 25 mph speed zone, failed to stop at a stop sign, veered into the oncoming lane and nearly ran off the road at various points during the pursuit.

Nuñez eventually stopped on Wallum Lake Road and officers approached the car with guns drawn, according to the report.

Body camera footage shows Nuñez muttering, “What happened,” as officers approach her. Officers wrote that they “detected an overwhelming odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from her breath.” According to a police report and footage from police body-worn cameras released Thursday, she repeatedly told officers that is the owner of the Presence Houseand argued with them why she didn’t stop immediately.

The officers tried to conduct field sobriety tests, but the video shows Nuñez not following the instructions and laughing at the officers. At one point, she told police, “You’re boring me,” and accused them of trying to “save face” by administering the tests, according to the report.

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

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

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

“I’m afraid of this PD. I drove through the stop sign and as they approached, I pulled over,” she wrote. “I remember feeling panicked and terrified, accelerating and then stopping. I knew I would be persecuted and probably taken to some place where I would be murdered.”

Lynch said Burrillville officers are sometimes called to the Presence House, where Nuñez also lives, for traffic caused by curious onlookers. Lynch said that on Saturday evening, Nuñez called police and reported seeing the former employees near the woods. Police arrived at the scene but found no one there, Lynch said.

He added that during the summer, officers went to the Presence House twice with a health care worker to check on Nuñez, who was taken to the hospital on one such occasion, he added.

Last month, Nuñez said Diary of Providence the hospital stay was arranged by former employees in order to take control of the house.

In a series of text messages to The Globe, Nuñez referred to several medical facilities but declined to provide details. “Just because I’m institutionalized because I’m complaining about crimes against me and my legal activities doesn’t mean I have psychiatric problems,” Nuñez wrote.

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

Former employees said Nuñez owed them money, including one who said he was fired after Nuñez accused him of stealing money from the company – her accusation based on a tip from the ghost of the former owner.

Guests also complained that they were asked to leave based on what they said was information from ghosts. Scott Kitlarz told The Globe that he and his wife paid $1,089 for a night at the home on Oct. 21. The Iowa couple left within hours after Nuñez asked if they were content creators and accused them of lacking “good intentions,” adding, “I feel your energy,” according to an audio recording Kitlarz shared with The Globe. He told the Globe that it seemed like the spirits had informed her about the Kitlarz.

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

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

“Anyone who wants to hurt me or my company will not 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 “Ghost Hunters,” also accused Nuñez of harassing him and expressed concerns about the safety of guests staying there.

Despite the controversy, the “House of Presence” has remained open to visitors, although Lynch last week decided not to immediately approve an entertainment license for the facility, citing “inappropriate” attachments in the application. Lynch, however, said Nuñez can still reapply before her current license expires in November.

When asked about the license, Nuñez said she would “pursue any option to conduct legal business.”

“Burrillville will need a compelling reason to decline,” she wrote in a text message.

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Christopher Gavin can be reached at [email protected].