MCADENVILLE, N.C. -- Police believe they've solved a murder investigation and two home invasions with the arrests of four people.

All of the suspects live in Charlotte, but police say they ventured outside the city to commit their alleged crimes.

Among the communities they targeted was the tiny town of McAdenville. It sits right off Interstate 85, but seems a world away from the neighboring Queen City.

"Nothing ever happens in this community.  It's a tight-knit community," said life-long resident Gaynell Lineberger.

Nearby Cramerton, which shares police departments with McAdenville at night, hasn't had a murder case where a weapon was involved in 22 years.

"It's something that people in our community aren't used to," said Police Chief Greg Ratchford.

But the typically tranquil town was rocked last Friday when a family of four was tied up and robbed at gunpoint in their own home.

It turns out that the suspects in that case are also accused of a home invasion in Dallas and one that turned deadly in Charlotte. Authorities are investigating to see if these suspects could be linked to other crimes in the area.

While people who live in McAdenville and Dallas are comforted by the arrests, they worry their once quiet towns may no longer be isolated from big city crime.

"It's not that we don't have crime, we just don't have it with the same frequency," Ratchford said. "And we'd like to keep it that way."

Behind bars in the three crimes are Latasha Hope, Perry Joines, Brandy Hickman and Eleni Hammond.