ST. LOUIS _ Hours after Sheena Greitens was robbed at gunpoint Monday night, Missouri Gov.-elect Eric Greitens and his wife called for law and order as well as compassion for the suspects apprehended.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning in St. Louis, near the crime scene, Eric Greitens said the incident strengthened his resolve as he prepares to become chief executive on Jan. 9.
"I'm thankful to God that (Sheena) is here with all of us this morning," he said. "As a husband my first thought was for Sheena's safety. My second thought was for justice.
"I'm glad the men and women of law enforcement found these men before I did," he added.
Greitens vowed to sit down with the mothers of the suspects, "whose lives also changed."
"And I feel for their families," Greitens said.
The Greitenses did not take questions from reporters, but senior adviser Austin Chambers said after their statement that Sheena Greitens would now be provided security from the Missouri Highway Patrol.
The robbery happened shortly after 6 p.m. near Cafe Ventana, just west of the campus of St. Louis University. Though a police report indicated Sheena Greitens was robbed while leaving Cafe Ventana, Chambers clarified that she had just pulled up to the coffee shop, where she was going to do some work.
Greitens was sitting alone inside her vehicle in the parking lot of the restaurant when her car door was suddenly opened by a robber, police said.
The robber pointed a gun at Greitens and demanded her property, police said. Greitens gave the robber her laptop and cellphone.
She saw several men or boys running from the scene, police said.
Police found that another car in the parking lot had been broken into and a man's cellphone was taken.
The man tracked his cellphone, which led officers to the 4200 block of Shreve Avenue.
Officers got behind a suspect vehicle and attempted to stop it. The vehicle fled and was involved in an accident, police said. No one was injured.
Three male teenagers got out of the car and fled from the scene on foot before they were taken into custody, police said. The suspects are ages 14, 15 and 19.
The 19-year-old was charged Tuesday with vehicle tampering. He was identified as Marquay Beard.
Investigators found the suspects' car had been stolen in an earlier robbery.
It had also been used in an attempted robbery just before the robbery of Greitens.
The stolen laptop and cellphones were found in the suspects' vehicle, police said.
Asked about the incident during a press call Monday, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., called it "disgusting."
"We have got to continue to focus our resources on those who are committing gun crimes in our communities, and there are certainly the sentencing laws in place that can put them in prison, and we need to make sure that they are doing that," said McCaskill, a former prosecutor in Jackson County.
Nick Ayers, a Republican political consultant who recently was chosen for President-elect Donald Trump's transition team, tweeted that Vice President-elect Mike Pence had spoken with the governor-elect and future first lady late Monday night, "offering prayers and support."
Ayers said he had spent much of Monday with the Greitenses. "So thankful she's okay," Ayers tweeted. "Nearly speechless to think what could have happened."
