Grove Street Families

The Grove Street Families are a gang in GTA San Andreas and have been silenced over the past few years by drugs, internal disagreements and their arch rivals, the Ballas. The Seville Boulevard Families (controlling only a small area in south-east Los Santos) and the Temple Drive Families (located up north) have split from the Grove, so just because they're wearing green doesn't mean they are necessarily allies. Whilst these events took place, Vagos and Ballas took over. Everyday, Grove Street gets weaker, and the Ballas get stronger. Grove Street OG's include Sweet (Sean Johnson), Big Smoke (Melvin Harris), Ryder (Lance Wilson) and CJ (Carl Johnson). The families must re-unite if they are ever to rise again. The Grove Street Families control areas of Ganton and East Los Santos.

Background
The Grove Street Families are headed by Sean "Sweet" Johnson and his lieutenants were Lance "Ryder" Wilson and Melvin "Big Smoke" Harris. Sweet is adamantly anti-narcotic, but Smoke believes the GSF have fallen from power because of Sweet's refusal to have the gang sell drugs. Their unwillingness to enter the drug trade has dragged the Grove Street Families out of prominence in the years leading up to the game's storyline. The fact that Sweet insits the gang shouldn't deal in narcotics, the deaths of OGs such as Tony, Big Devil, and Little Devil, and the abandonment of Big Bear, B-Dup, the Temple Drive Familes, and the Seville Boulevard Familes has led to the sorry state of the GSF upon CJ's return from Liberty City in 1992.

There are at least two other distinct sets of the Families: the Temple Drive Families and the Seville Boulevard Families, both of which were originally one with the Grove Street Families, but split up from the GSF during the five years of Carl's absence. Earlier in the game, they are not on good terms with each other, which is why the gang has weakened.

The rivalry between the sets mainly has to do with Grove Street's opposition to drug dealing, but later in the game, the Families are united into one gang. Grove Street member Carl Johnson is involved in a brief conflict with the Seville Boulevard Families, who try to pin Sweet while he was visiting his girlfriend in Seville. Following this incident, Carl and Sweet Johnson call for an end to "green on green" conflicts.

Ballas Take-Over
During the mission "Green Sabre", it is discovered that Ryder and Big Smoke infact have been working for the Ballas to set up a drug venture in San Andreas. Sweet is shot during the final shootout between Sweet (and his fellow gang members) and the Balllas and goes to prison while CJ is taken out of Los Santos. It is at this time that the Ballas take over all Grove Street territory and where the gang members either are killed or go in to hiding.

Back in Dominence
After the mission "Home Comming", the Grove Street Families are back in dominence of their home turf in Ganton, thanks to the turf take-over which is done by Sweet and Carl during this mission. After this point, they regain the power that they have lost during Carls absence from Los Santos.