Prosecutors: Teen attempted carjacking in Rosemont parking lot

A Chicago teenager was ordered held on $50,000 bail Monday on charges she and an unidentified man attempted to steal a car from a woman in a Rosemont parking lot.

Taylor Thompson, 19, is charged with vehicular hijacking, a felony punishable by up to 12 years in prison. Probation is also an option.

Prosecutors say the car owner left a big-box store in the 7000 block of Mannheim Road with a shopping cart at 6:23 p.m. Saturday and headed to her car. She began loading the items from the cart into her car when Thompson and a man approached her and asked if she needed help, said Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Nicole Murphy. Soon after, the cart was knocked over and the man pushed the woman face down onto the seat and told Thompson to look for the car keys, Murphy said. When the man put his hand over the woman's mouth to keep her from screaming, she bit him and he punched her, Murphy said.

Thompson and the man got into the vehicle and tried to close the door, struggling with the woman who attempted to keep the door open, Murphy said.

Two witnesses heard the woman's screams and drove over while the man ran away before entering another car and fleeing, Murphy said. Meanwhile, one witness tackled Thompson while the other flagged down a Des Plaines police officer, Murphy said.

The woman and the witnesses subsequently identified Thompson as one of the people involved in the attempted carjacking, Murphy said.

Thompson next appears in court on Nov. 13.