Providence man to serve double life sentence for 2021 murder

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A Providence man will serve two consecutive life sentences in prison for a 2021 drug-related murder.

Phillip Manners, 44, will serve two life sentences at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) plus a 20-year sentence to be served concurrently.

Manners was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder and a host of other charges on November 10, 2023.

The incident occurred on April 15, 2021 when Manners met the victim, Joshua Costa, in a garage on Harris Avenue in Providence.

The two men met again the next day at the garage and Costa brandished a gun at Manners and took a bag containing narcotics from Manners’ possession and then fled.

Manners then produced a gun, chased Costa into the garage’s office and shot him several times, killing him.

“I want to thank the men and women of the Providence Police Department and the Attorney General’s Office for their work in bringing this defendant to justice,” said Providence Police Colonel Oscar Perez.