Stretch

Background

Stretch, real name Harold Joseph, is a veteran "OG" of the Chamberlain Gangster Families and one of the antagonists of Grand Theft Auto V. Lamar Davis idolized him from a young age, while Franklin Clinton always resented the way Stretch used gang hierarchy to boss younger members around and demand a cut of their money. Before 2013 he was sent to Bolingbroke Penitentiary, where he befriended members of the Ballas.

During his last months inside he broke the jaw of an inmate who had snitched on someone, which earned him five days in isolation.

Events of Grand Theft Auto V

Stretch is released early in the story, and Lamar arranges a reunion outside Franklin's aunt's house that nearly ends in a fight between Stretch and Franklin. In The Long Stretch the three go to a deal with the Ballas at Rogers Salvage & Scrap in La Puerta. The deal is a trap set by D, the Ballas OG whom Lamar had tried to kidnap in Chop. Stretch shoots D, and the trio escape a running battle with the Ballas and the police. Afterwards Stretch blames Lamar and warns that he will sacrifice both young men if that is the price of peace with the Ballas.

Franklin grows more suspicious, but Lamar keeps defending him. Stretch's betrayal comes out in Lamar Down: he sets up a meeting at the sawmill in Paleto Forest, where the Ballas capture Lamar. Franklin, Michael and Trevor storm the sawmill and rescue him, but Stretch is not caught.

In The Third Way, Lester tracks Stretch down and Michael is assigned to kill him so that the killing cannot be tied to Franklin. Michael confronts him with his Ballas allies and finishes him off. In the other two endings he survives.

Personality

Stretch is resentful, proud and calculating. He sees Franklin as a traitor who has left the hood behind and treats Lamar as someone he can use. His long time in prison has made him harder and more cynical than the friends he left outside.

He believes in the old gang hierarchy, in which veterans are owed respect and a share of the younger members' earnings, and he cannot forgive Franklin for refusing to play along.

Relationships

• Lamar Davis: a friend who trusts him blindly, until Stretch betrays him.
• Franklin Clinton: suspicious of him from the start.
• The Ballas: the rival gang he secretly works with.

Trivia

• Stretch has a child with an ex-girlfriend, who complains on social media that he has not visited since his release.
• A gold medal objective in The Third Way asks the player to kill him with a melee attack.