They planned to 'shoot off some rounds.' Two men ended up fatally shot in the head

Two men shot to death in a car in University Place went with their alleged killer to fire off random rounds while driving around, according to court documents.

On Tuesday, Pierce County prosecutors charged Javier Valenzuela Feliz, 30, with two counts of second-degree murder for the May 14 deaths of Adrian Valencia, 19, and Wilberth Acala, 22.

A 21-year-old man arrested in connection with the homicides has not been charged. He was released to the the U.S. marshals earlier this month on an unrelated matter.

Feliz pleaded not guilty at arraignment Wednesday, and Court Commissioner Meagan Foley set bail at $2 million.

Valencia's mother, Rosa Valencia, sobbed as she watched the arraignment, and said in Spanish: "What did you do to my son?"

The family said Valencia is survived by his girlfriend and their 2-month-old son.

The bodies of Valencia and Acala were found inside a Dodge Charger parked blocking the 6100 block of 63rd Street West after a neighbor called 911 to report two men passed out in the car.

Sheriff’s deputies determined Valencia and Acala had been shot in the head. Shell casings and beer cans were found in the backseat.

Footage from security cameras at nearby houses showed two men climbing out of a car window and running down the street.

The mother of one of the victims identified the two suspects, records show.

After detectives arrested the first suspect, he told them the four men went out “to shoot off some rounds as they drove,” according to charging papers.

As Feliz was shooting rounds out the window, he suddenly shot Valencia in the head and demanded Acala find an area where they could discard the body, the other suspect told investigators.

“As they traveled to the location that the vehicle came to rest, the defendant then shot the driver in the head area,” records show.

The unnamed suspect apparently was recording the incident on his cell phone and allowed detectives to listen. Text messages between him and Feliz discussing drugs and what was publicly known about the shootings were found on his phone.

The unnamed suspect told detectives he heard from media reports that the killings were drug-related and decided not to come forward because he had a drug warrant and feared he’d be blamed for the murders.

This story was originally published June 27, 2018 at 9:03 AM.