Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez, 46, is licensed to carry a concealed weapon, but police said she should not have opened fire because her life was not in danger.
Pursued by security guards, a shopflifter ran from a Home Depot hardware store on 6 October to a vehicle driven by an accomplice.
Ms Rodriguez fired several shots with a 9mm handgun as they drove away.
No-one was hurt outside the store in Auburn Hills, Michigan, about 35 miles (56km) north of Detroit. Police said Ms Rodriguez had hit the back tyre of the getaway vehicle.
"I find it very disturbing that someone would take out their gun in a busy parking lot and shoot at the tyres of a passing car," prosecutor Jessica Cooper said in a statement. "Once fired, the bullet could have easily ricocheted or fragmented and injured or killed someone else."
The thieves escaped with $1,000 (Â£652) worth of merchandise. Police arrested two people few days later and charged them with retail fraud.
If convicted, Ms Rodriguez faces up to 90 days in jail and a possible fine of up to $500.

While its existence has become a source of controversy on both sides of the Channel, some are also angry at attempts to destroy it.

17 December 2016 Last updated at 12:26 GMT
Garry Reed joined Swimbridge Primary School in 1982, but retires this Christmas.
Known by his students as "a funny teacher with very good jokes", Mr Reed said he has never arrived at school in North Devon without looking forward to the day ahead.
Russell Hobby, the general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: "Mr Reed is one of the longest-serving heads in the country.
"What a fantastic achievement to have led a school so well for so long"
A Michigan woman has been charged with recklessness after she fired on a pair of shoplifters.
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Demolition teams - backed up by riot police - are dismantling parts of the migrant camp in Calais, known as the Jungle, which has become home to thousands of people desperate to reach Britain.
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One of the longest-serving head teachers in the country is retiring after 35 years at the same school.