A federal judge sentenced a Merrillville man Thursday to 92 months — or nearly eight years — for selling cocaine, U.S. Attorney Clifford Johnson said in a release.

Eric Crosslin, 37, signed a plea deal on one count of distribution of cocaine. He will serve three years on supervised release after prison.

Court records allege the feds caught Crosslin selling cocaine six times from September to October 2020. Cops recovered guns, cash and cocaine at his homes in Merrillville and Gary, according to the release.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and Gary police investigated the federal case.

Court filings show Crosslin admitted in Lake Superior Court in Crown Point in 2014 that he fatally shot Jermaine Johnson, then 25, in the back on May 20, 2011, outside a home in the 4400 block of Connecticut Street in Gary.

He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and got six years.

mcolias@post-trib.com