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Rumor has it some major advancements are being made in the case the recent Rockingham County slayings. Unfortunately, we can't confirm or deny them. Investigators remain tight-lipped.

Rock residents are abuzz about Saturday's fatal home invasion that claimed the lives of Troy and LaDonna French, the couple shown smiling and hugging in ubiquitous photos.

I won't list the tidbits several News & Record staff have heard from neighbors or subscribers who have sent emails or called.

When asked to clarify some of the rumors, officials from the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office have said they don't have further information to release. The sheriff's office hasn't provided any details on the case since sending a press release at 5:50 p.m. Saturday.

On Thursday, Staff Writer Robert C. Lopez went to Rockingham County to visit the sheriff's office, the clerk's office and the magistrate's office. He asked questions and tried to track down public records, including returned search warrants and arrest warrants. He found nothing.

The rumors persisted as the day progressed.

Around 7 p.m., I called Kevin Suthard, the sheriff's public information officer, for further information.

"Nobody has been arrested," he said.

I asked if residents should be worried that a random killer is on the lose.

Suthard replied, "Until the killer is brought to justice, I think a certain sense of alert is advisable."

At 8:15 p.m., Sheriff Sam Page returned my call. He said deputies can't control the spread of rumors.

"Social media and all that information, we can't control that," he said.

Readers, keep us posted. And when we get concrete information, we'll share it with you.

The Rockingham County Sheriff's Office issued this news release at 9:42 a.m. Wednesday.

[WENTWORTH, NC] — It has come to our attention here at the Sheriff’s Office that many rumors have surfaced regarding the French Homicides in the past few days. At this point in time, there have been no arrests made in connection with the French Homicides, though our Investigative Team continues to work tirelessly towards that end. As further information develops pertaining to this case (that can be released to the media), it will be released without delay via the Sheriff’s Office’s Public Information Officer, Deputy Kevin Suthard.

“I have the upmost confidence that my Investigative Team WILL bring whoever is responsible for this heinous crime to justice. It is because of that confidence I can say that WHEN an arrest is made, the media will be notified without delay. I understand and appreciate the concerns of the citizens, not only in the Bethany area, but throughout Rockingham County; but my Investigative team needs time to examine all elements of this case. This is too important to risk any mistakes by rushing. I would ask the citizens and the media to be patient with us as we continue to investigate this tragedy and seek the person(s) responsible.”

–Sheriff Sam Page

An article in today's paper, "1-stop center designed to help victims", details the Greensboro Police Department's initial plans to open an all-inclusive center for domestic violence to receive services from several agencies.

The department got a head start late last year by receiving a $200,000 grant from the Crime Victims Services Committee under the Violence Against Women's Act Funding. With that money, Lt. Karen Walters and a few other officers traveled across the country to see the all-inclusive center in San Diego — the Family Justice Center. (Visit www.familyjusticecenter.com for more information.)

Police bought equipment, including cameras, recorders and tablet computers for the domestic violence unit, which Walters is trying to form.

The grant also helped the department, along with the Guilford Technical Community College, host a week-long training for about 40 people from law enforcement agencies in the state. Two former FBI agents taught the participants criminal profiling techniques for sex crime investigators and crime scene characteristics in sexual homicides, among other things.

Walters has been working with the relatively new Violence Against Women Responders Network of Guilford County to learn more about what the community in the proposed domestic violence center. UNCG's Center for New North Carolinians AmeriCorps program and Center for Women's Health and Wellness collaborated to create the responders network in September 2010.

The group holds three meetings a year, said coordinator Julie Lapham. During the last meeting in September, the High Point Police Department's presented its innovative response to domestic violence. High Point officers focus on repeat offenders instead of focusing solely on abuse victims and how they can leave harmful situations.

This is a "coup," Lapham said.

"A person who is abused against their will, to require them to go to a court of law, to change their world, and to continually repeat the story versus having a police officer look at the perpetrator is a breath of fresh air."

Besides prosecution, High Point police aim to hold offenders more accountable through follow-up visits, enhanced case management and stern warnings that sanctions will increase if offenders repeat negative behavior.

The responders network will hold its next meeting at the end of this month at N.C. A&T. The gathering will highlight the university's newly created Center for Behavioral Health and Wellness.

The group established an email list to facilitate communication within the network, and to provide announcements about new programs, services, resources, and events in Guilford County related to violence against women and girls.

Request to subscribe to this list-serve by sending their e-mail address and full name to Christine Murray (cemurray@uncg.edu) or Julie Lapham (jnlapham@gmail.com). To post to the list, send an e-mail to VAWRN-L@uncg.edu.

Wednesday's story about a Greensboro man being charged with killing a NYPD officer differs greatly from the original story.

Nancy McLaughlin spent most of Tuesday piecing together information from New York sources that said Greensboro police maybe botched orders to extradite Lamont Pride, who was wanted in a non-fatal shooting in August on Holden Road, from any state to North Carolina. They wondered, 'Why was Pride still free?'

New York media reported that Pride had been arrested in the Big Apple twice before Monday's slaying of NYPD Officer Peter Figoski — on Sept. 22 on a knife possession charge and on Nov. 3 on drug charges. Pride walked out of jail twice. There were no extradition orders to move Pride from any other state to North Carolina.

The New York Daily News reported that New York police contacted Greensboro police in September. Initially, Greensboro police spokeswoman Susan Danielsen said they did contact GPD in September.

"But the warrants, unbeknowst to us, did not have extradition orders on them," Danielsen said in the article.

Scratch that.

According to a timeline released by Greensboro police at about 8 p.m. Tuesday, those September talks never happened. Greensboro police didn't know Pride was in New York until his November arrest.

Greensboro police did a lot of research Tuesday before releasing this timeline:

• Aug. 5 — Man receives non-life threatening shots on Holden Road.
• Sept. 23 — GPD obtains arrest warrant for Pride for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to inflict serious injury and felony conspiracy. This warrant was for in-state extradition only.
  
• Sept. 26 — GPD obtains a second arrest warrant for Pride in the Aug. shooting for charge of possession of a firearm by a felon. This warrant also was for in-state extradition only.
• Nov. 8 — An NYPD officer tells GPD about Pride's Nov. 3 arrest. GPD amends the warrants to include full extradition from any state to N.C.
  
• Nov. 9 — GPD learns that Pride was released from custody in New York and asks the U.S. Marshals Service to help them locate and extradite Pride, which they were trying to do before Monday's shooting.

In the statement, police said the in-state extradition orders were appropriate, according to the district attorney's opinion. Police said the Guilford County district attorney evaluates the circumstances of each case  when determining what level of extradition is warranted. Pride wasn't deemed a flight risk, so in-state extradition was ordered.

Because of these late developments, my editor and I completely rewrote the story to include the police department's response.

Let's see what everyone has to say today.

GPD Mourns NYPD Officer Figoski, Explains Extradition Process For Alleged Shooter 121311

Information about this robbery suspect was posted on news-record.com on Nov. 30, but police are still looking for the public's help in identifying him.

Police said a man armed with a handgun robbed a gas station convenience store Nov. 28.

According to Greensboro police, employees said the man entered the Wilco Hess at 3610 West Wendover Ave. about 8:55 p.m. and demanded money. The man ran from the store with an undisclosed amount of cash.

No injuries were reported. Police made public surveillance pictures of the robber on Wednesday.

Anyone with information about this incident can call Crime Stoppers at 373-1000.

Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page testified before a Congressional Judicial Committee in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday about immigration issues, including what impact the Secure Communities Program is having on public safety.

Read his full address to the committee at http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/Page%2011302011.pdf. 

Since becoming the president of the N.C. Sheriff’s Association, Page began hearing concerns from other sheriffs across the nation about illegal aliens, border security, and drug and human trafficking from Mexico impacting our local communities, according to the sheriff's office.

In August of 2010, Sheriff Page traveled to the Arizona border and met with various law enforcement agencies there, learning of their experiences and witnessing firsthand the problems associated with securing the U.S. borders, the news release stated. When he returned, Sheriff Page began working diligently with the Center for Immigration Studies and, in October of this year, coordinated an effort to bring together sheriffs from across the U.S. and Congressional leaders to address this issue.

The Secure Communities Program uses an existing federal information-sharing partnership between ICE and FBI to help identify criminal illegal aliens, those who pose a threat to public safety; and repeat immigration violators. When an individual is booked into a local jail, their fingerprints are shared with the FBI to see if they have a criminal record. Under Secure Communities, the FBI automatically sends the fingerprints to ICE to check against its immigration databases. If these checks reveal that an individual is unlawfully present in the U.S. or otherwise removable due to a criminal conviction, ICE then can take enforcement action.