Six local men have been arrested and charged in connection with two violent home invasions in Wadesboro. Two more suspects are still at large.

The invasions took place in April and early May, Wadesboro Police Chief Janie Schutz said.

One of the two suspects involved in both incidents was Anthony Markee Allen, 18, who was also charged June 14 with the murder of 31-year-old James Pickett. On May 3, Pickett's body was found lying in his front yard, shot once in the face and once in the back.

"There is no connection in my mind between the murder and the home invasions," she said.

The other suspect charged in connection with both invasions was David Bernard Wall, 19, of Wadesboro.

Schutz described the incidents as "particularly brutal." The names of the victims are not being released.

In the first, six men armed with handguns were let in by someone in the residence, which was occupied by two men, a woman and her three children, each under the age of 4. The residence belonged to the woman.

The two men were pistol whipped and one of them was stripped and locked in a closet. The female victim was taken outside and held while the suspects looked for valuables.

The incident was not reported until mid-May. "The victim feared for her life," Schutz said.

Schutz said the woman kept silent because she and her children were threatened. The victim has not stayed at her residence since the invasion.

Roughly two weeks after the first incident, another similar incident occurred. This time four men were involved. A woman in the second home was strangled to the point of unconsciousness.

When the woman awakened, after an unknown period of time, she went to a neighbor's house and called police. She had also been robbed.

Schutz said two suspects were unaccounted for and one of them might have left town.

Schutz urged citizens to come forward as soon as possible when a crime is committed, as an investigation is much easier to successfully conduct immediately after the commission of a crime.

Allen faces two felony counts of first degree burglary, two felony counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon and one felony count of second-degree kidnapping. His trial date is set for July 21 in Wadesboro, where he will also be tried in connection with the earlier charge of first-degree murder.

Wall faces one felony charge of first degree burglary, one felony charge of robbery with a dangerous weapon and one felony charge of second degree kidnapping.

Carnell Charles Caple Jr., 19, and Cedrick O. Little, 19, both of Wadesboro, each face one felony count of first degree burglary, one felony count of robbery with a dangerous weapon and one felony count of second degree kidnapping.

Keshun Davis, 18, and Morris Enos Knotts, 19, both of Wadesboro, each face one felony count of robbery with a dangerous weapon and one felony count of burglary.

Wall, Caple, Little, Davis and Knotts all have July 21 court dates in Wadesboro.

Charges were not available for the other suspects, but Schutz said Little, Wall, Allen and Caple were charged in connection with the first home invasion.

Wall, Knotts, Davis and Allen were charged in connection with the second invasion.

Anyone with more information about the two incidents should call the Wadesboro Police Department at 704-694-2167.