Charges filed in Michigan Avenue shooting

May 11, 2009 (CHICAGO) Cornielius Banks, 19, of the 800 block of Williams Court in Schaumburg, Ill., faces one count of aggravated battery to a peace officer. Banks appeared in court on the charges Monday.

Bond was not set for Sheila Ferguson -- who faces two counts of aggravated battery of a peace over, one count of disarming a peace officer and one count of forgery.

Ferguson, who remains hospitalized, will appear in court on May 19.

Banks and Ferguson were recognized as suspects in recent robberies along bustling Michigan Avenue's shopping district on Saturday afternoon. Louis Vuitton store employees believed Ferguson was involved in a high-priced spending spree on a fraudulent credit card and called police.

When officers responded, Banks fled on foot and Ferguson was shot by a police officer as she allegedly tried to disarm him as she tried to drive away.

"There was a struggle where she eventually made it to a vehicle. She made it to the vehicle, at which point a shot was fired," said Chicago Police Department Cmdr. Eric Washington.

It does not appear Ferguson was armed, police said.

"A young woman, there was a car. Both doors were open. She was on the ground. The first thought was the worst, but then I could see her breathing," said witness Mike Marshall.

"[She was] kind of screaming and moaning. You couldn't understand what she was saying, but she was conscious. She lifted her head a couple of times," witness Andrea Cole said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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