Grove Street Families

Updated 29 October 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

The Grove Street Families (GSF) are the street gang at the centre of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004). Based on Grove Street in Ganton, Los Santos, and known by the colour green, the gang is led by Sweet Johnson with his brother Carl "CJ" Johnson. Big Smoke and Ryder betray it to the Ballas. In GTA V the set is said to have broken up.

Who are the Grove Street Families?

The Grove Street Families are an African-American street gang from Ganton, a neighbourhood in the south of Los Santos. They are the home crew of Carl "CJ" Johnson, the hero of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which reached the PlayStation 2 in North America on 26 October 2004. The game is set in 1992. Green is the gang's colour, and members wear it on their clothes, paint it on walls and drive green cars.

According to GTA Wiki, the gang grew out of Grove Street itself and later spread to nearby blocks. Its early history is never told in the games, but its feud with the Ballas was already running by 1987. The wiki also notes the gang refused to sell crack, a choice that put it at a disadvantage against the Ballas.

GTA Wiki traces the gang's slide to several blows: the deaths of older leaders, the killings of CJ's brother Brian and later his mother Beverly, and a split that left separate Seville Boulevard and Temple Drive sets. Its home turf in 1992 covers Ganton and parts of Playa del Seville, Temple, Santa Maria Beach and the area around Vinewood Cemetery. Glen Park and parts of Idlewood are won back during story missions such as Grove 4 Life.

Who leads Grove Street in San Andreas?

Sean "Sweet" Johnson, CJ's older brother, runs the gang, and CJ acts as his second-in-command. Two old friends round out the inner circle: Melvin "Big Smoke" Harris and Lance "Ryder" Wilson. GTA Wiki lists both as former lieutenants and OGs of the set, meaning senior members who had been around since the gang's better days. See our page on Big Smoke for more on him.

What happens to Grove Street in the story?

CJ comes home from Liberty City after his mother is killed in a drive-by. He finds Grove Street in poor shape. Its sets have split apart, and the Ballas have pushed into its turf. Wikipedia's summary of the game says CJ rebuilds the gang by bringing the scattered sets back together and by allying with Cesar Vialpando of the Varrios Los Aztecas.

The turning point comes when CJ and Cesar discover that Big Smoke and Ryder have been meeting with the corrupt police officer Frank Tenpenny and the Ballas. The two men had switched sides for a share of the drug trade, and they were tied to the attack on CJ's mother. In the fight that follows, Sweet is wounded and sent to prison, CJ is driven out of the city, and the gang loses most of its ground.

CJ spends the middle of the game in the countryside, San Fierro and Las Venturas. GTA Wiki notes that Sweet's release is arranged through Mike Toreno. CJ then returns to Ganton, and the brothers rebuild the gang together before the final showdown with Big Smoke and Tenpenny.

How do gang wars work in GTA San Andreas?

Gang wars are how the player wins back the city block by block. According to GTA Wiki, they open up after the mission Doberman. To start one, CJ kills at least three enemy gang members on foot in rival territory within a short time. Three waves of attackers then arrive, and each wave carries heavier guns than the last. Clearing all three turns the area green on the map. Wikipedia describes the same three-wave structure.

GTA Wiki adds a few details. Darker shades on the map mark areas that are more heavily defended, so the waves there are tougher. Starting a war does not remove an existing wanted level, except in the mobile and Definitive Edition releases, but the level stops climbing while the fight goes on. If CJ dies in the second or third wave, the area turns grey and is left disputed.

Turf can also be lost. Rivals launch counter-attacks on Grove Street areas next to their own, and the player has a few minutes to get there and fight them off. GTA Wiki counts 53 Ballas and Vagos territories that can be taken, and the final mission, End of the Line, only unlocks once the Families hold at least 35% of them. Taking every territory in Los Santos stops the attacks altogether.

Are the Grove Street Families in GTA V?

Not as the gang CJ knew. Grand Theft Auto V (2013) is set in a separate continuity, the HD universe, so San Andreas characters are not part of its story. Its version of Los Santos has a wider gang called the Families. GTA Wiki lists the Grove Street Families as a set of that gang that was active in the 1990s and has since disbanded, and says Grove Street itself is now Ballas ground.

The Families of GTA V are centred on Chamberlain Hills, Strawberry and part of Davis, and still wear green. Franklin Clinton and his friend Lamar Davis belong to the Forum Drive set. In GTA Online the Families appear in contact missions and gang attacks, and the online character works with Lamar and Gerald as a hired hand.