Three Hurt In Geezer Salad Bar Brawl

MARCH 3--At age 62, you should know better than to root through the lettuce in the salad bar at your Florida old age home. But that's what Spring Haven Retirement Community resident Lee Thoss did last Sunday afternoon, triggering a brawl that sent three residents--including Thoss's octogenarian mother--to the hospital. According to the below Winter Haven Police Department report, Thoss went ballistic after William Hocker, 86, told him to stop "playing" with the lettuce--and then called the younger man a "child molester." Thoss allegedly responded by punching Hocker in the face and biting the arm of a 78-year-old male resident who tried to break up the fight. Also injured in the melee was Thoss's mom, Arlene. In defense of her son, Arlene told cops that he was simply picky when it came to his choice of greens. In the end, the pensioners each declined to press charges, though the younger Thoss has been bounced from the retirement home. (3 pages)