Just Enough Fame To Send a Guy to Jail

A man who helped rescue a yacht crewman from the icy waters of the Washington Channel went to the D.C. Harbor Patrol office yesterday, seeking recognition for the good deed.

The man, who is homeless, got some attention -- but not the kind he wanted. He was arrested on a warrant issued when he was mistakenly released from the D.C. jail in December.

Wayne Emery Hall, 47, is now back in jail, serving a 20-month sentence for driving a stolen car. Hall, who told police that his name was DeLeon Butler after Monday night's rescue, was wanted on an "erroneous release" warrant, D.C. corrections officials said.

Hall and another homeless man, Duke "Showtime" Kelley, had been working for several days with police to coordinate a recognition ceremony.

Hall and Kelley had helped a third man, Floyd Lipscomb, go to the aid of William "Al" Slaughter, who had slipped into the 38-degree water in the 1100 block of Maine Avenue.

Slaughter had been stuck in the water for about 10 minutes, unable to pull himself out, when the three men walked by. Hall and Kelley helped Lipscomb shimmy over a seven-foot fence so he could get to Slaughter. Then they called police.

Lipscomb held on to Slaughter for about 10 minutes, until a Harbor Patrol officer arrived and helped him yank Slaughter out of the water.

Hall, Kelley and Lipscomb have become celebrities in the past few days, and their faces have appeared on local television.

The Capital Area Regional Taskforce, made up of U.S. marshals, corrections officers and D.C. police, noticed that Hall resembled a man they had been looking for and took the opportunity to arrest him yesterday.

Hall had been living under a bridge near where Slaughter almost drowned, Lipscomb said.

Hall was arrested in June and sentenced in November for driving a stolen car. He was released Dec. 7, and a warrant for his erroneous release was issued Dec. 14.

Corrections spokeswoman Beverly Young said the circumstances surrounding Hall's mistaken release were under investigation. Hall was also convicted in 1995 of driving a stolen car.

Slaughter, who suffered hypothermia in the accident, was released from the hospital yesterday. He said that he did not know the details of Hall's crimes but that he hopes the criminal justice system looks kindly on Hall's efforts to save a man's life.

"Whatever his future is should be impacted by his willingness to help someone. That goes a long way in my book," Slaughter said yesterday. "Maybe he made a mistake, but he's doing something that's good and worthwhile. After all, that's really what life's about."

Staff writer Henri Cauvin and staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.