UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MICHAEL R. CHAVIS, Plaintiff, v. Case No. 1:20-cv-00638 (TNM) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION, Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION Michael Chavis is an investigator helping Ricardo Sanchez, Jr., challenge his murder conviction. Chavis submitted a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request seeking records on Sanchez and his co-defendants in connection with Sanchez’s legal challenges. Chavis sues the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Justice (collectively, the “Government”), challenging the DEA’s decision to redact information and withhold documents under various FOIA exemptions that protect privacy and law enforcement interests. The parties cross-move for summary judgment. They dispute whether the DEA adequately searched for records responsive to the FOIA request, properly explained its decisions to withhold material under various FOIA exemptions, and complied with its obligation to release all reasonably segregable material. For the following reasons, the Court will deny Chavis’s summary judgment motion and grant the Government’s motion. I. Ricardo Sanchez, Jr. received life and death sentences for the murders of the Escobedo family, including three- and four-year-old children. See United States v. Troya, 733 F.3d 1125, 1129–30 (11th Cir. 2013); Decl. of Michael Chavis (“Chavis Decl.”) ¶¶ 3–4, ECF No. 14-1. 1 “These murders took place to protect a large-scale drug trafficking ring involving drugs, guns and extensive violence.” Troya, 733 F.3d at 1130. Sanchez continues to challenge his conviction. Chavis Decl. ¶ 5. He argues in part that the prosecution “failed to disclose exculpatory and impeachment material pursuant to its obligation.” Id. The DEA is an agency within the DOJ tasked with enforcing federal drug laws and regulations in the United States. See Decl. of Angela D. Hertel (“Hertel Decl.”) ¶ 5, ECF No. 12-1. “Several DEA agents interviewed witnesses and conducted [an] investigation into [Sanchez’s] charged offenses.” Chavis Decl. ¶ 6. The lead DEA agent also “coordinated and directed the investigation by several federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.” Id. Michael Chavis is an investigator with the Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee, which represents Sanchez in his post-conviction proceedings. See Defs.’ Statement of Material Facts Not in Genuine Dispute (“Defs.’ SOMF”) ¶ 1, ECF No. 10-2; Chavis Decl. 1 Chavis offers a “Counterstatement of Material Facts.” Pl.’s Combined Opp’n & Cross-Mot. Summ. J. at 6–10, ECF No. 14-2. But some of his proposed facts lack any citations to the record, which the local rules and this Court require. See LCvR 7(h)(1) (“Each motion for summary judgment shall be accompanied by a statement of material facts as to which the moving party contends there is no genuine issue, which shall include references to the parts of the record relied on to support the statement.” (emphasis added)); Standing Order ¶ 14(B)(i), ECF No. 3 (requiring moving party to “attach a statement of material facts for which that party contends there is no genuine dispute, with specific citations to those portions of the record upon which the party relies in fashioning the statement.” (emphasis added)). The Court declines …
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