The five men arrested Thursday in connection with an armed robbery near the South Dakota-Nebraska border had registered at a Rapid City motel the previous day, according to local law enforcement authorities.

Three of the men were suspects in a spree of armed robberies that began in the early morning hours Tuesday in Butte, Mont., then spread to Columbus, Mont., later Tuesday, and Sheridan, Wyo., early Wednesday morning.

One of the men fired shots in two of the robberies but no one was injured.

The three robbery suspects and two other men registered at the Knights Inn in Rapid City about noon Wednesday, according to Lt. Marty Graves of the Pennington County Sheriff's Office.

About 10:50 p.m. Wednesday, five men robbed the State Line Club & Casino between Oelrichs and Chadron, Neb., law enforcement authorities reported.

In the early morning hours Thursday, authorities got a tip that the suspects were registered at the Knights Inn. The suspects were known to be in a stolen Dodge Dakota pickup, reported stolen from Montana, according to a news release.

About 1 p.m. Thursday, officers with the Pennington County Sheriff's Office, Rapid City Police Department and the Special Response Team, searched the motel rooms but found nobody.

The five suspects were arrested in Chadron shortly after noon Thursday.

Lt. Graves said the suspects apparently spent less than 24 hours in Rapid City. Graves said he had no information indicating the suspects committed any criminal activity in the Rapid City area.

Staff at the Knights Inn referred inquiries to the Rapid City Police Department.

The crime spree began at 2:50 a.m. Tuesday in Butte, when three men - one armed with a handgun - robbed the Thriftway convenience store. They took an undisclosed amount of cash, 12-packs of beer and cigarettes. The clerk was not hurt, authorities said.

About four hours later, a trio matching the description of those in Butte robbed the Town Pump in Columbus - 186 miles east of Butte on Interstate 90. In that incident, the gunman fired two warning shots in the store before the three made off with an undisclosed amount of money.

About 4 a.m. Wednesday, three men entered the Holiday Station convenience store in Sheridan. One of the men pointed a handgun at the female clerk and demanded money, according to Sgt. Tom Ringley of the Sheridan Police Department.

"She apparently wasn't moving fast enough for them, so one of the suspects fired a shot into the wall behind her," Ringley told The Montana Standard in Butte.

The men left the store with between $100 and $150, Ringley said.

Investigators reviewed security video of both the Sheridan and Columbus robberies, and Ringley said the robbers in both videos looked similar.

After the State Line Club & Casino robbery on the South Dakota-Nebraska border, authorities traced the suspects to Chadron, where a 14-hour manhunt ensued.

Four of the suspects were arrested shortly after noon on Thursday after police chased them into a neighborhood northwest of the Chadron State College campus. The fifth man was captured a few blocks away.

Chadron police identified three of the men arrested as Jordan Adams, 19, and Jacob Kraus, 20, and Camille Adams, 21. Jordan Adams and Kraus walked away Monday from the Helena, Mont., prerelease center, which houses inmates near the end of their sentences, according to the Montana Department of Corrections. Camille Adams was on probation in Anaconda, Mont., according to Montana officials.

Chadron police on Thursday were trying to identify the other two men arrested.

Police said officers seized a firearm and an undetermined amount of money.

The five suspects were being held on suspicion of possession of stolen property, fleeing to avoid prosecution and possession of a defaced firearm, all felonies and all related to the casino robbery.