On Friday, a Johnston County judge found that race played a significant role in the death penalty trial of Hasson Bacote, influencing the makeup of the jury along with the decision of the death sentence.

Attorneys for the state said they planned to appeal the superior court judge’s ruling to the NC Supreme Court.

A chilling twist emerged Friday in the death of Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old TV reporter who traveled to cover the Super Bowl but mysteriously died in a hotel room. A “career criminal” with a history of drugging men was spotted entering and leaving Manzano’s room the morning of his death,

On Friday, a judge said race did play a role in the trial and death sentence of Hasson Bacote. Bacote was previously sentenced to death for the 2007 death of Anthony Surles during a robbery attempt.