In 1987, the gang was shaken by the death of a rather young Brian. officer Frank Tenpenny, who allied himself with the Ballas (who, unlike the Families, had no reservations against dealing in hard drugs) and cooperated with them against the Families for profits, giving the Ballas a foothold on street intelligence, which started bringing the Ballas to a major footing against the Families. During the mid-1980s, Grove Street Families were at the height of their power when they were intensely pressured by corrupt C.R.A.S.H. Folowing his return to Los Santos, Carl also recalls Ryder dealing drugs since he was ten, during an interaction with him. Sweet became the leader of the Grove Street Families as he matured, which introduced him, Carl and even Brian into gang life. The Johnson siblings, along with childhood friends Melvin "Big Smoke" Harris and Lance "Ryder" Wilson, grew up on the same Grove Street cul-de-sac. According to one of his later revelations, Carl was traumatized in his youth by swimming off the coast of the Santa Maria, having a condom stuck to his face, and has since then been reasonably afraid to swim. He had never or rarely ventured outside Los Santos before 1987. Old Reece recalls memories of Carl's father, though his own sanity is in question due to the way in which he often addresses him as his "son", and Carl, while in Liberty City, often tells his crime partner Joey Leone that he never knew his father. He has an elder brother Sean "Sweet" Johnson, and two younger siblings, Kendl and Brian. 1.1 Childhood, Teenage Years, and Gang LifestyleÄescription Childhood, Teenage Years, and Gang LifestyleĬarl was born inside the Johnson House in Grove Street in Ganton, Los Santos, to mother Beverly Johnson and an unnamed father who is never mentioned.