Tinseltown theaters had its day in court June 20. That court date resulted in a guilty plea by Manager Brian Ortega and $2,000 in fines. City court Judge Mike Martin fined the theater $1,000 for each of the two recent health and sanitation violations handed out by county health inspectors.

Ortega originally pleaded not guilty to the charges but later returned to the courtroom to plead guilty. Asked by Judge Martin if the problem had been resolved, Ortega nodded in the affirmative.

Tinseltown has been in trouble over health and sanitation violations for some time. The theater scored 50 out of a possible score of 100 on a March 23 follow-up health and sanitation inspection and 54 on the follow-up to the follow-up inspection March 29. The theater was issued a citation March 31 to appear in Fayetteville Municipal Court June 20 for food service violations. Violations found during a subsequent inspection mandated an Aug. 22 court appearance. Court officials combined the two appearances to take place on June 20. During ann April 4 Health Department visit the theater scored an 83.

The May 23 visit came on the heels of a May 19 visit, a follow-up from an April warning notice. The May 19 citation noted the same conditions described on the May 23 violation notice.

Regarding the theater’s court appearance, Cinemark Vice President for Marketing and Communications Terrell Falk said June 15 Tinseltown will take things as they come.

“Our company has not had a problem like this. We recognize that this is not something we want to have happen,” Falk said. “We want people to come to our theaters and have a good time and not to think about things like this.”

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