Harris DA office fires prosecutor for lying on job application

Marlene Bovell was fired Wednesday for lying on her employment application, according to the Harris County District Attorney's office. Marlene Bovell was fired Wednesday for lying on her employment application, according to the Harris County District Attorney's office. Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close Harris DA office fires prosecutor for lying on job application 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

The Harris County District Attorney's Office on Wednesday fired a recently hired prosecutor after determining she allegedly lied about being convicted on her employment application.

"Marlene Bovell was fired Wednesday for lying on her employment application," according to a statement by the DA's office. "She started Monday as an assistant district attorney assigned to the Misdemeanor Division."

The statement was issued after the Houston Chronicle questioned the hire because of a Cayman Islands news report that a lawyer with the same name had been convicted there for stealing $6,000 from a crisis center where she worked. She apparently was sentenced to 21 months in prison in 2009, according to the report.

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In that case, Bovell apparently wrote three checks to herself using her maiden name.

"She admitted Wednesday that she had not been truthful on the application," according the statement from the DA's office.

The agency said Bovell's background was checked through data bases traditionally used by law-enforcement, to determine if a person has been previously arrested or convicted of a crime, before she was hired.

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"The data bases returned no information to indicate she'd had any previous encounters with law enforcement," according to the statement.

The DA's office also noted that the State Bar of Texas licensed her to practice law in November 2017,

Officials with the state bar said the job of vetting potential attorneys falls to the Board of Legal Examiners, which conducts fingerprint checks, background checks and requires a detailed personal statement. Those applications are reviewed by investigators who can request face-to-face interviews with applicants.

Bovell worked at the Harris County District Clerk's Office from July 2013 to July 2015 as an assistant district clerk, according the DA's office.