Leroy Buttrom, Jr., the son of 1980s Detroit drug lord, Leroy (Gun) Buttrom, is facing trial for drug trafficking himself out of Ohio in November. The feds did in his dear old dad more than three decades ago. Today, it’s the state authorities coming after junior. The 39-year old Buttrom, Jr. was traveling in a car with three other men in April when they were pulled over by police in Sandusky County and 158 grams of heroin was found, along with an unregistered firearm. He’s charged with aggravated trafficking, heroin possession and receiving stolen property. The drugs’ street value were estimated at $30,000. His previous criminal record lists two convictions on weapons charges in Michigan in 2001 and 2003, respectively. Buttrom, Jr. resides in Redford Township, Michigan, right outside of Detroit proper. Gun Buttrom, 69, led the Motor City’s infamous Pony Down Gang in the early-to-mid 1980s. The elder Buttrom was busted by the feds for drugs and racketeering in November 1985 and served almost 20 years in prison. The Pony Down Gang went to war with the historic Young Boys, Incorporated crew for supremacy in the drug game on the Westside of Detroit in 1982, around the time of a big federal indictment that took out the bulk of YBI’s leadership and left the organization vulnerable to the ambitions of Buttrom and his three brothers and lieutenants, Walter, Tony and Larry. By late 1983, the Pony Down crew had acquired large swaths of territory in former YBI strongholds like the Brewster-Douglas and Herman Gardens project complexes. While YBI wore Adidas brand sneakers and clothing, favoring red and white coloring, Pony Down wore Pony brand shoes and gear, sporting a blue and white color scheme. The war waged between the two gangs left at least a half-dozen dead. Upon moving in on YBI turf, the Buttroms would hold meetings with area street dignitaries and require them to say “I Pony Down” in allegiance to the new regime.
