Carl "CJ" Johnson (born 4 February 1968) was an African-American gangster and the second-in-command of the Grove Street Families gang under his brother, Sweet Johnson. CJ left for New York City for five years after the death of his brother Brian in 1987, but he returned home in 1992 for his mother's funeral. He returned to a Los Angeles that was plagued by gang violence and drug use, and Johnson returned to the gang life to fight against the rival Ballas and Vagos gangs and the corrupt C.R.A.S.H. police force. His quest to save his family took him to the rural areas north of Los Angeles to San Francisco and even to Las Vegas and rural Nevada, and he would eventually have his revenge against his mother's killers Big Smoke and Frank Tenpenny in April 1992 during the Los Angeles riots, ensuring that Grove Street was the most powerful gang in the city, and that nobody could mess with his family anymore.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Johnson heading to his flight home at JFK International Airport in 1992
Carl Johnson was born in Compton, California in 1968 to Beverly Johnson and an unknown father. He was the brother of Sean "Sweet" Johnson, Kendl Johnson, and Brian Johnson, and Carl and his brothers became the leaders of the Grove Street Families set of The Families gang during the 1980s. In 1987, Brian was killed by the Ballas gang, and Carl felt that he was responsible, thinking that he could have prevented his death. Carl decided to miss out on Brian's funeral and move to New York City, where he worked as a car thief for Joey Leone and the American Mafia. Johnson worked for him for five years, but he eventually grew homesick. In 1992, he decided to return home, and he packed his bags and left for JFK International Airport. It was there that his brother Sweet gave him a call to let him know that his mother had been killed, and CJ hurried home.
First encounter with C.R.A.S.H.[]
CJ being arrested by C.R.A.S.H. on his return home
Johnson left the airport in a taxi with just one bag and a wad of cash, and he asked the driver to take him to Grove Street in Compton. However, a squad car pulled the taxi over, and corrupt C.R.A.S.H. officer Frank Tenpenny asked for Johnson to leave the car with his hands in the air. Johnson's cash was taken away by Tenpenny, who claimed that it was drug money, and he had Eddie Pulaski shove him into the squad car without giving him his travel bag. Johnson was then presented with a gun which Tenpenny claimed that Johnson had used to kill police officer Ralph Pendelbury ten minutes earlier, although Johnson had not even left his plane at that time. Tenpenny told Carl that he would be watching him, and he decided to use Johnson as a pawn for his own designs.
Beverly Johnson's funeral[]
Ryder Wilson, Sweet Johnson, and Kendl Johnson at Beverly Johnson's funeral
Johnson returned to his house on Grove Street after fleeing on a bicycle through Ballas turf after his release from the squad car, and he felt the weight of his mother's death upon returning to the Johnson House. He was then greeted by OG Big Smoke, who was wielding a baseball bat in case a burglar had entered the house. Big Smoke greeted him and told him that he should get in the car to meet his siblings at their mother's funeral, and Johnson met Sweet, Kendl, and Ryder Wilson there. Kendl was warm with him, but Sweet was hostile, saying that Carl had again skipped a family member's funeral. The reunion was interrupted when Ballas cars moved in for a drive-by, and the gangsters fled on bicycles through the center of the city and down to Grove Street, their home turf.
Return to "the Game"[]
CJ wearing gang colors and an Africa necklace
Upon returning home, Carl received phone calls from Sweet and officer Hernandez, with Sweet warning him of the Seville Boulevard Families and Temple Drive Families' betrayals, while Hernandez warned him not to leave Los Angeles, for law enforcement would come down on him if he did. Carl decided to be re-initiated into the gang, taking part in vandalism with spray cans, robbing a pizza restaurant, a drive-by shooting, an attack on a crack den, the robbery of Colonel Fuehrberger's house, a raid on a National Guard depot, and other activities. Carl gradually regained the respect of his felow gangsters, and he helped OG Loc with his aspirations in becoming a rapper while also taking over turf from rival gangs. The return of Grove Street was hampered by an ambush at the Four Level Interchange by the Ballas, however, as Sweet was attacked by Ballas while Carl found Big Smoke and the C.R.A.S.H. officers talking near the green Sabre car that was used in the drive-by that killed Beverly Johnson. Carl headed to warn Sweet, but the two of them got involved in a firefight with the Ballas, ending with Sweet being wounded and arrested and Carl being kidnapped by C.R.A.S.H..
Exile to the Badlands[]
Carl taking the streets for Grove Street
Johnson woke up in a police car in Whetstone County in remote California, and he was ordered to take out an FBI informant who was protected by agents on Mount Chiliad. Tenpenny told Carl that he wanted proof of the informant's death, so he had Carl use a camera to photograph the agent's corpse after he killed him during a car chase. Johnson proceeded to contact Cesar Vialpando, telling him to get Kendl and meet him at his safehouse in Angel Pine, which had been given to him by Tenpenny. He was also contacted by the hippie "The Truth", who told Johnson that Tenpenny wanted him to plant two tons of marijuana in a District Attorney's car to damage his credibility. Johnson stole a combine harvester for The Truth, The Truth told him that he would prepare the pot for the mission.
Robbery spree[]
Vialpando later contacted Johnson and told him that he had a cousin who lived in the remote Whetstone area that he could work with, and Johnson headed over to a bar to meet her. She introduced herself as Catalina, and she told him that they could rob a gas station in Dillimore, California, a betting shop in Montgomery, California, a bank in Palomino Creek, or a liquor store in Blueberry, California. The two of them took part in four robberies, with Catalina being annoying with Carl; she was a psycopath who was also a staunch feminist, and she engaged in BDSM sex with him at their Fern Ridge hideout on one occasion. Catalina later broke up with him when she found out that he had been taking part in illegal street racing instead of being with her.
Move to San Francisco[]
CJ, in his new clothes, talking with Jizzy B
During the races, he met Wu Zi Mu, a Chinese man who was secretly the head of the Mountain Cloud Boys triad of San Francisco, as well as concealing the fact that he was blind. Johnson beat Wu Zi Mu, Vialpando, and Catalina and her boyfriend Claude Speed in a long race, and he won Catalina's garage in San Francisco. Carl was disappointed, but Vialpando helped him in discovering that Ryder was being used as a courier by Big Smoke to take drugs from San Francisco down to Los Angeles. He photographed the people at the meeting with Ryder, and Wu Zi Mu identified the men as Mike Toreno, T-Bone Mendez, and Jizzy B, the heads of the Loco Syndicate. CJ helped The Truth in burning down his marijuana plantation before police could arrive, and he headed to his garage in San Francisco with The Truth, who helped him with recruiting mechanics Dwaine Harvey and Jethro Rampton to help with the garage. Johnson proceeded to plant the pot in the District Attorney's car while dressed as a valet, and he had the DA arrested when he called the cops on him. Johnson also proceeded to buy several apartments across the city as well as new clothes to suit his new environment.
Introduction to the Triads[]
With his work for Tenpenny done, Johnson decided to drop by an electronics store owned by The Truth's friend "Zero", buying the property to produce money as well as to help him out. He shot down RC planes sent to attack the store by Zero's rival Berkley, and he collected money from the store. Johnson also decided to meet up with Wu Zi Mu to work for him, and he helped him in fighting against the Da Nang Boys and evacuating Triad boss Shuk Foo Ran Fa Li from Chinatown, San Francisco. Johnson also took part in the attack on the Da Nang Boys' large cargo ship docked in the harbor, killing their boss, "The Snakehead" and destroying the gang.
Destruction of the Loco Syndicate[]
Johnson also decided to infiltrate the Loco Syndicate to get revenge against Ryder, and he pretended to be a new recruit for Jizzy B, humbly serving him on various tasks. He later killed Jizzy B and stole his satellite phone after finding out that a deal with Ryder was going to take place at Pier 39, and he killed both T-Bone Mendez and Ryder at the docks, ending the deal and weakening Big Smoke's crack empire. Then, Johnson was informed of Loco Syndicate leader Mike Toreno's attempt to escape the city in a helicopter, so he shot the helicopter down, finishing off the Loco Syndicate's leadership. Johnson then proceeded to destroy the drug factory that the Loco Syndicate used, destroying the gang and consolidating Triad control over the city.
Working for the CIA[]
However, Johnson received a call from a mysterious, garbled voice that told him to head to a ranch in the desert of Nevada to meet him in order to free his brother. When he arrived at the ranch, he discovered that Toreno was still alive, and that he worked for a government agency. Johnson was forced to carry out several top secret missions for him, as he was constantly under surveillance; he also became a certified pilot after completing ten flying simulations on a television screen at his Verdant Meadows airstrip. Johnson grew tired of working for Toreno, but Toreno reminded him that only he could secure his brother's freedom. One of his jobs involved entering a plane carrying supplies to Middle Eastern dictators and blowing it up with satchel charges, and CJ successfully escaped the crashing plane.
Las Vegas[]
Eventually, he received a call from Wu Zi Mu that invited him to come to Las Vegas to check out the Triads' Four Dragons Casino, and he decided to act against the rival American Mafia families to help the Triads. Soon, he decided to work to organize a heist on Caligula's Palace, the Mafia casino. He helped mob lawyer Ken Rosenberg, music manager Kent Paul, and singer Maccer in escaping Las Vegas while gaining the trust of Mafia boss Salvatore Leone, and he ultimately betrayed Leone by robbing the casino with the help of some Triads. He was also forced to work for Tenpenny and CRASH while he was in Las Vegas, stealing an FBI dossier for them. However, Eddie Pulaski was told by Tenpenny to kill CJ and officer Hernandez, who was discovered to have been reporting on Tenpenny to Internal Affairs. Pulaski killed Hernandez, but CJ chased down and killed Pulaski; Tenpenny had already made it back to LA.
Return to LA[]
CJ and Sweet at their home during the riots
Johnson rescued the rapper Madd Dogg when he was about to kill himself in Las Vegas, and Madd Dogg told CJ that he wanted to go home. Johnson decided to become his manager, and he decided to take back his mansion from the Vagos leader Big Poppa, who had bought Madd Dogg's mansion. CJ and some Triads took the mansion and killed Big Poppa and his Vagos, and Madd Dogg's nineteen-bedroom mansion became a base for CJ and his friends. There, CJ was met by Mike Toreno, who had him scuttle a flotilla of spy ships before telling him to pick his brother up from jail, as he had just been released. Sweet and CJ reunited and took back the streets of Inglewood and Compton from the Ballas, and the two of them also beat down Mark Wayne at his crack palace due to his betrayal. Sweet, CJ, and their friends proceeded to head to Madd Dogg's mansion, where they decided to live in safety. They watched the trial of Frank Tenpenny in April 1992, and they were upset when they saw that the charges against him had been dropped, and CJ, Sweet, and Kendl decided to head back to Grove Street to lock down the hood during the ensuing Los Angeles Riots.
Retaking the streets[]
CJ helping the Aztecas in retaking Little Mexico
CJ and Sweet were met at their home by Cesar Vialpando, who asked for Carl's help in taking back Little Mexico from the Vagos. CJ said that he had family business to take care of, but Sweet told CJ that he wanted him to pay his debts, leading to CJ and Cesar going to the neighborhood to meet up with some Los Varrios Aztecas gang members. The LVA, with assistance from two Grove Street Families gangsters, took back the hood from the Vagos after tough fighting in alleyways and on the streets, and CJ received a call from Sweet asking him to take over some more hoods from the Vagos and Ballas to discover Big Smoke's location. CJ took over several Balla neighborhoods, eventually convincing a Vago to call Sweet and tell him that Big Smoke had a crack den on the border of Boyle Heights and Lennox, California.
End of the line[]
Big Smoke dying next to Carl
CJ and Sweet drove over to Big Smoke's palace, which was heavily-protected. CJ told Sweet that he would go in alone, as he wanted to avenge Brian, their mother, and Sweet's arrest. He stole a SWAT van and drove through the wall at the entrance of the crack palace, and he proceeded to make his way through four floors of Ballas, Vagos, Rifa, and Russian Mafia gangsters before reaching Big Smoke's room at the top. Big Smoke was playing video games, and he knew that CJ was going to come for him. Big Smoke attempted to kill CJ with a gun, but CJ eventually succeeded in gunning him down. Big Smoke told him that he betrayed him because he saw opportunity, and he died after telling CJ that people would remember his name.
Downfall of Tenpenny[]
Tenpenny laying dead on Grove Street
CJ was then confronted by Frank Tenpenny, who had him load a suitcase full of Big Smoke's drug money before setting fire to the crack palace. CJ escaped the building in less than six minutes, and it exploded as he left. He chased Tenpenny down as Tenpenny sped off in a firetruck, with Sweet unwisely jumping onto the ladder and hanging from it for several minutes. CJ eventually succeeded in driving under Sweet and rescuing him, and Sweet took the wheel of the car as CJ killed some C.R.A.S.H. cops on the firetruck as well as destroying pursuing police cars. Tenpenny eventually lost control of the truck, which veered off of a bridge and onto the Grove Street cul-de-sac. He attempted to call out "officer down", but nobody came to his help, and he died of a heart attack as Sweet and CJ confronted him.
Events of 1993[]
Rosenberg and Madd Dogg announcing the gold record
Sweet and CJ returned to their nearby house, where they met up with their friends. Rosenberg and Madd Dogg arrived to announce that Madd Dogg's new record went gold, and the group celebrated. Sweet proceeded to tell CJ that there were problems in Las Vegas, San Francisco, and at home, and Kendl suggested rolling dice with Wu Zi Mu in Las Vegas. However, CJ left the party, saying that he was "fittin' to hit the block, see what's happenin'."
Johnson, now involved with the music industry, amassed a large fortune, and he and his family eventually moved out of Grove Street and left behind their earlier criminal lifestyles. Over the next several decades, the GSF and the other sets formed "The Families" gang, banding together to fight against their old enemies. By 2013, the Ballas had taken over Compton and Grove Street itself, while the Johnsons had left Los Angeles for good.