Elgin man pleads guilty to attempted murder in 2021 shooting of CPD officer in Lincoln Park
Incident began when seemingly erratic customer inside Ulta caught others' attention, CPD said
CHICAGO (WLS) -- An Elgin man pleaded guilty Monday to attempted murder in the shooting of a Chicago police officer near a busy Lincoln Park shopping district in 2021, according to court documents.
Jovan McPherson, who was 23 at the time of the shooting, was sentenced to 35 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
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He's being given credit for 1,702 days served already. The sentence is to be served at 85%.
McPherson changed his plea before a jury was selected for a trial.
The shooting happened in the 1000-block of West North Avenue, at the North & Sheffield Commons shopping mall, in October 2021.
Former Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said the incident started when a seemingly strange and erratic customer inside the Ulta Beauty store caught employees' and customers' attention. The confrontation escalated quickly, and the store's security guard called police. An officer responded.
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Investigators said McPherson started struggling with the officer, first in the store and then spilling outside into the parking lot. Police said a second officer arrived almost immediately.
"The person got to their car, got inside their car; a struggle ensued and shots were fired," Brown said.
McPherson fired three times, police said, but the officer was struck only once in the cheek.
The officer was in good condition after the shooting and was released from the hospital the same day.
McPherson was taken into custody that day.
A short cell phone video clip shows the officer leaning against a silver car just moments after he was struck by a bullet in his cheek, with customers still scrambling, as colleagues rushed to his aid.
No further details about the officer were released. Officers did not fire their weapons, Brown said.
The video in the player above is from an earlier report.
