Lester Crest

"We are about to put the Darwinism back in Social Darwinism, and brother, it is gonna be fun."

- Lester Crest to Michael De Santa in Friend Request.

Lester Crest is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series who appears as a central character and the main deuteragonist in Grand Theft Auto V, and as a main character in Grand Theft Auto Online.

Background
"A long, long time ago in a faraway place, there were three guys. Michael, Trevor, and Lester."

- Lester Crest

Lester suffers from a wasting disease which has gradually worn down his motor skills during his life and left him wheelchair-bound, though he is able to walk short distances with the use of a cane. Due to his limited mobility, Lester has grown considerably overweight, and he also suffers from asthma. It is implied that Lester was bullied in high school, as he posted on Bleeter that "getting revenge" on his old high school class "never seemed to get old".

Some time after he finished his studies, Lester applied for a faculty position at the University of San Andreas, Los Santos, but was not accepted. As an act of revenge, he hacked their systems.

At an unknown point in time, Lester met and became affiliated with bank robbers Michael Townley and Trevor Philips, becoming a regular member of their heist crews since the start of their partnership, working mostly as a planner and information scout. In 2004, Lester refused to participate in robbing a cash storage facility in Ludendorff, North Yankton, believing it was a bad idea. His suspicions are later confirmed when he discovers that, during this same heist, Michael faked his death and moved to Los Santos, having previously made a deal with Federal Investigation Bureau agent Dave Norton, but as Michael never mentioned him as part of the crew, he kept quiet about Michael's secret. After this, Michael, Trevor, and Lester lost contact with each other, though Lester secretly kept tabs on Michael and Trevor's whereabouts.

At some point, Lester moved to Los Santos as well, and purchased a garment factory in La Mesa, along with several other properties to use as fronts for his various operations.

Meeting the player
"Welcome to paradise."

- Lester to the GTA Online Protagonist

In 2013, the player is introduced to Lester in Grand Theft Auto Online upon reaching rank 10; Lester phone calls them and asks meet up at his house in El Burro Heights. When the pair meet, he informs the player of their growing reputation and suggests that they invest their money in real estate in order to protect it from being robbed. Before the player leaves, Lester tells them they are able to put a bounty on other players by simply calling him. If the player sets a bounty on another player, Lester will take a cut of $1,000.

After the 1.15 Patch, the player could receive messages from Lester who requires a target eliminated for easy cash, although this can no longer be played as it was removed from the Enhanced Edition in the Freemode Events Update, and GTA Online for the Xbox 360 and PS3 has since shut down.

Heists
Lester sends a text message to the player, asking to meet him in his factory, to talk about an opportunity. Lester then introduces the player to the online Heists. He and Paige Harris help the player in the execution of a heist, targeting a safety deposit box at the Chumash branch of Fleeca.

Afterwards, he refers the players other heists he doesn't want to take part it, but still takes a finder's fee for the referral. Finally, Lester leads the player on a final heist, where they rob the Pacific Standard Public Depository Bank.

Lester also would request the GTA Online Protagonist to distract the cops occasionally to allow his contact to safely escape. The feature was removed from the Enhanced Edition in the Freemode Events Update and remained exclusive to the 360 and PS3 editions until they shut down.

Bikers
"With my vast knowledge and your time, effort and bank, we'll be unstoppable."

- Lester as "Long John Teabag" introduces the player to Open Road Network.

Lester, under the nickname "Long John Teabag" and using a voice changer,  helps set up the player set up and run illegal business for their Motorcycle Club, using The Open Road, a network server run by him.

Events of Grand Theft Auto V
Lester and Michael reunite after nearly a decade when Michael finds himself in need of money after unintentionally angering Cartel boss, Martin Madrazo, by pulling his mistress' house down a hill, believing it to be the home of Kyle Chavis, a tennis coach who'd slept with his wife. Lester agrees to help, but only after Michael helps assassinate Lifeinvader CEO Jay Norris, who Lester had long since became enraged with since he relied on child labor, along with being annoyed at the messiah complex he developed. Lester also planned to make a profit by buying Lifeinvader shares at minimal price, only to sell them at inflated ones later, after Norris' death. Once the assassination is taken care of, Lester helps Michael, and his new associate Franklin Clinton, pull off a robbery at the Vangelico jewel store in Portola Drive, which covers the cost of the repairs to Madrazo's house.

Later on during the game, Lester hires Franklin several times to pull off other similar assassinations in order to amass a fortune in the stock market. Lester buys up large amounts of stock in the rival companies of his targets when their share prices are low, so that their share prices will rise significantly following the assassinations and Lester can sell his shares at a profit. Other victims include Brett Lowrey, the CEO of Bilkinton Research who had recently come under fire for manufacturing faulty erectile dysfunction medication; 4 corrupt jurors who planned to throw out a lawsuit against Redwood Cigarettes; Jackson Skinner, the Head of Product Development at Facade currently at the center of a data mining scandal; Isaac Penny, a venture capitalist who planned to acquire a majority share of Vapid Motor Company simply to outsource most of the jobs; and Enzo Bonelli, a mobster turned real estate developer who blackmailed his way into several construction contracts for Los Santos.

Lester reunites with Trevor after the latter stole an unknown superweapon from a private security company named Merryweather Security, and convinces him to return it in order to not get hunted down by many major national governments. Additionally, he helps the protagonists plan out a robbery on a County Bank to finance an FIB operation, helps Franklin rescue Michael after he's captured by Wei Cheng's triad due to his connection with Trevor, helps Michael and Franklin carry out a break-in on the FIB Headquarters to delete incriminating files about the team and Agent Steve Haines, and helps the three protagonists find and rescue Franklin's friend Lamar Davis after Franklin's former friend Stretch betrayed him to the Ballas. Finally, he ultimately helps the trio pull off the biggest score of their careers: a robbery on the Union Depository. If the player chooses the Obvious approach to The Big Score, Lester will travel as a passenger in Trevor's helicopter and shoot down pursuing Merryweather helicopters with a Rocket Launcher.

Endings
By the end of the game, Franklin is given separate orders by Steve Haines and Devin Weston to kill one of his friends. Haines wants him to kill Trevor and Weston wants him to kill Michael. The player then has to choose between carrying out Haines' instructions, carrying out Weston's, or disregarding them both and getting together with both Trevor and Michael to take out their enemies.

Ending C=

The Third Way
Franklin contacts Lester and asks him for help on figuring out what to do. Lester initially suggests killing both Trevor and Michael, but eventually comes up with a better way to solve the problem. He lures Haines' corrupt FIB allies and Weston's private Merryweather battalion to a foundry where the three protagonists ambush and kill all of them, stripping both Haines and Weston of their brute force power. Afterwards, Lester acquires the locations of all of the protagonists' enemies (after Franklin explains to him that Stretch's real name is Harold Joseph), allowing them to take out their enemies once and for all. Michael kills Stretch, Franklin kills Wei Cheng and Trevor kills Steve Haines before going to Devin Weston's mansion to kidnap him. Trevor takes Weston to a cliff in Blaine County where he meets up with Michael and Franklin and all three protagonists proceed to mock a terrified Weston before pushing the car he's in off the cliff, killing him. After the assassinations are carried out, Lester sends all three protagonists their respective shares from the UD job and congratulates them on a job well done. Ending A or B=

Something Sensible/The Time's Come
In this ending, Lester only appears again through an email he sends to the two surviving protagonists. If Trevor is killed, he sends Franklin and Michael their share of the Union Depository job as well as half of Trevor's to each of them, as well as claiming to be rather disappointed that things had to end as they did. If Michael is killed, Lester sends Franklin and Trevor their shares of the Union Depository job and sends Michael's share to his family, while at the same time stating in his email that he hopes neither Franklin or Trevor were involved in Michael's murder.

The Doomsday Heist
"For all I know, you're bugged all to high hell and you don't even know the bugs exist!"

- Lester to Agent 14.

In 2017, Lester contacts the GTA Online Protagonist, saying he's found opportunities more lucrative than the traditional bank heists, which can be utilized under a SecuroServ VIP contract, a SecuroServ CEO organization, or a registered Motorcycle Club. The player begins by purchasing a government facility, where Lester meets them along with a billionaire named Avon Hertz and his AI neural network named Cliffford. Avon claims that he and Cliffford have unfolded a doomsday plot from an unknown foreign entity and is looking to hire some people for taking on extremely dangerous missions, such as infiltrating the NOOSE building and stealing an Avenger from Merryweather. Thus, Lester and the protagonist agree to become hired guns for Avon.

In the, conclusion of Act 1, Avon sends the protagonist to a secret IAA facility beneath the Satellite Relay Station which is under attack by Merryweather Security. Avon claims that Merryweather was hired by an "unknown" client and that it is the protagonist's job to clear the facility of hostile activity and rescue any IAA agents still alive. After the attack is foiled, Agent 14 and Phoenicia Rackman reluctantly team up with Avon on behalf of the International Affairs Agency. The three of them hire Lester and the protagonist to find the "unknown" client who paid off Merryweather and uncover their intentions. The trail eventually leads to the Ramius, a Russian submarine off the coast of Paleto Bay, and a rogue Russian special ops unit led by a mysterious Russian agent called Bogdan.

In the conclusion of Act 2, the protagonist, with the help of Lester, infiltrates the Ramius and eliminates anyone who stands in their way. After Avon orders them to upload Cliffford into the sub's mainframe, Bogdan reveals himself and tells the protagonist that Avon and Cliffford are actually planning to launch a nuclear missile, resulting in, and that he was only trying to stop them. Avon reveals his true colors and Cliffford initiates the sub's self-destruct sequence to destroy all "evidence". Lester orders the protagonist to jump ship and Bogdan willingly provides them with some scuba gear before taking flight in an escape pod, after which the Ramius explodes. After escaping, the protagonist regroups with Lester, Rackman, and Agent 14 at the Los Santos International Airport. "Avon is the real fucking bad guy? Not the Russians? What? Hey, who saw that coming? I don't know what to say. Just take your hard earn government cash and run! You go back to robbing banks, running gun smuggling Cargo or whatever the cool crooks are doing these days... I'll just need to see how this plays out... In the meantime, I'll try and contact the Russian captain, um, Bogdan, to see what he knows. We're gonna make Avon pay, oh just wait for my call."

- Lester to the Player

After killing Avon and destroying Cliffford in the Act 3 finale, the protagonist reconvenes with Lester, Agent 14, and Rackman at the Galileo Observatory and is congratulated on their success and for stopping a nuclear war. Lester, speaking for the protagonist and himself, tells Rackman that they'll settle for their fat paycheck and Rackman agrees to pay. A socially awkward Lester then tries to initiate "small talk" with the protagonist before giving up and saying "Well, this has been... horrifying... really, really horrifying but... also pretty fun. So, bye bye.".

At the conclusion of The Doomsday Heist, Lester calls the protagonist and informs them that due to their work in stopping Avon, Lester will no longer charge the player when they need the cops called off.

The Diamond Casino Heist
In 2019, Lester unexpectedly contacts the GTA Online Protagonist, asking them to meet him at Mirror Park for a new opportunity. When the protagonist arrives, Lester is angry at the player for messaging him and tells them that he is done with heists. When the protagonist shows Lester that he messaged them, Lester realizes that his phone was hacked. The hacker, Georgina Cheng, immediately shows up with her associate Huang on behalf of Cheng Family Holdings. She claims that she wants the two of them to rob the The Diamond Casino & Resort for her, due to the Duggan Crime Family recently taking control of the casino from them. Though reluctant to do so, Lester agrees to help and tells the protagonist to purchase an Arcade Center to be used as a front for the heist, with him hiring staff, including his old friend Michael's son Jimmy, to make the purchase seem legitimate.

Later on, Lester meets up with the protagonist at their newly purchased Arcade center and runs them through some basic business setup to get the place up and running before they can plan the heist in the basement. Lester remains behind the scenes as the heist planner and gives instructions on the Prep missions and eventually the heist itself. Once it's pulled off, Lester regroups with the crew on the roof of the building directly across from the casino to celebrate. Georgina then unexpectedly arrives and flirts with him, eventually making out passionately on the rooftop as they begin a romantic relationship.

After the heist, Lester continues to help the protagonist rob the casino whenever they want, should they choose to do so. Later on, a picture can be seen of Lester and Georgina hanging out at the Del Perro Pier, with Lester having won a stuffed-animal from one of the carnival games for her.

The Contract
In 2021, during the events of The Contract update, it is revealed that Franklin and Lester are still in touch, and that Lester has recently spoken to Franklin about the GTA Online Protagonist robbing The Diamond Casino & Resort in 2019.

Lester is also briefly mentioned by Franklin during the Payphone Hits introduction, as "the dude who used to run the hits in this town".

Personality
Despite Lester's physical disabilities, he makes up for this with a genius-level intelligence, a masterful expertise in technology and computing and a sharp eye for detail, which is what makes him an excellent planner for the various heists he has pulled off throughout his life. He is also an avid video-gamer, and is a particular fan of Righteous Slaughter 7.

Lester is, by his own admission, socially awkward and reveals to the GTA Online Protagonist during the Fleeca Job that he's not the best conversationalist and rarely meets people in person. When he meets people online and arranges to meet them in real life, he will show up but unseen by his dates and Lester instead will watch them from afar. Sometimes he likes cracking bad jokes that end up in unanswered laughs, showing his inability to deal with people outside the business or the online life.

Lester is very well informed on world politics and the machinations and details of corporate activities. Using this knowledge, he has previously been involved in stock fraud and corporate assassination. "You see, I like my scores like I like my dates: across the street and unaware they're being watched."

- Lester to the player.

On Lester's Lifeinvader page, a message from a girl asking about his true age can be seen, implying that he fakes his age in order to talk to younger women, with Trevor referring to him as "Lester the Molester". Lester admits to Franklin that he hacks girls' webcams to watch them and after the The Bureau Raid (Fire Crew approach), he says he will "reverse engineer a webcam and spy on those sorority girls again". It is possible that he is bisexual, as a folder entitled "Gay porn" can be found on his Facade computer, however, this may also be a way to "troll" people. Lester possibly believes that the is watching him as he has an Illuminati poster in his house as well as a folder on his laptop's desktop labled "Illuminati", and this may possibly explain why the windows of his house are covered up.

Relationships with other Characters
Michael De Santa- Lester first meets Michael at an unknown period of time and seems to be a mastermind in Michael's robberies many years prior. It was stated by Michael that he wasn't much of a friend towards Lester and after they've encountered one another during the events of the game, Michael decides to make up for that. He can often be seen sticking up for Lester when he can't defend himself from much stronger people, such as Trevor. However, that won't stop Michael from bullying Lester if he criticizes the former for his hypocrisy.

Trevor Philips - Much like with Michael, Lester met Trevor at an unknown point in time. However, the two have a sort of antagonistic relationship with each other: Trevor regularly belittles Lester over his physical weakness and, whenever he comes up with a heist, will try to cheat him out of a cut; Lester views Trevor as incredibly idiotic and feels that his short-sighted recklessness in regards to planning his own heists will cause uncontrollable consequences to anyone connected to them.

Franklin Clinton - Lester developed a healthy relationship with Franklin over the course of their dealing with each other. While Lester was initially wary of Franklin, being the newbie in Michael's jewelry store heist crew, Franklin proved his worth, so much that Lester personally offers Franklin assassination missions to manipulate the stock market, one mission of which allows Lester to buy a luxurious house in Vinewood Hills for Franklin. Franklin's friendship proves to be crucial for Franklin in his times of need such as when he rescued Lamar, and later, Michael and Trevor.

GTA Online Protagonist - Lester is the main contact for the GTA Online Protagonist and usually hires them for heists. Initially Lester's behavior towards the Protagonist was awkward as he didn't know how to deal with their silence. Later on Lester's faith in their skills increased to the point that they were the go to contacts for Lester during the Doomsday Heists which unlike other heists, the fate of the world was at stake and so required skill and talented individuals. Lester remains in contact with them even outside of major heists as he will help the Protagonist under the name of LJT during MC activities.

Grand Theft Auto Online
{{Scrollbox|content=
 * Cops Capacity (Boss)
 * Landing Strip (Boss)
 * A Titan of a Job (Boss)
 * Last Chopper Outta LS (Boss)
 * High Priority Case (Boss)
 * Quarry Quarry (Boss)
 * By Land, Sea and Air (Boss)
 * Teaser Trailer (Boss)
 * Four Trailers (Boss)
 * Sinking Feeling (Boss)
 * Bust Out (Boss)
 * The Parking Garage (Boss)
 * Hack and Dash (Boss)
 * On Maneuvers (Boss)
 * American Exports (Boss)
 * Chemical Extraction (Boss)
 * Stocks and Scares (Boss)
 * Docks to Stock (Boss)
 * Docks to Stock II (Boss)
 * Crime Scenester (Boss)
 * Master Data (Boss)
 * Denial of Service (Boss)
 * Truck Together (Boss)

Heists

 * Fleeca Job - Scope Out (Boss)
 * Fleeca Job - Kuruma (Voice/Boss)
 * The Fleeca Job (Boss)
 * The Prison Break (Post-mission phone call)
 * The Humane Labs Raid (Post-mission phone call)
 * Series A Funding (Post-mission phone call)
 * Pacific Standard - Vans (Voice/Boss)
 * Pacific Standard - Signal (Voice/Boss)
 * Pacific Standard - Hack (Voice/Boss)
 * Pacific Standard - Convoy (Voice/Boss)
 * Pacific Standard - Bikes (Voice/Boss)
 * The Pacific Standard Job (Boss)

Bikers

 * Steal Supplies (Voice/Boss)
 * Protection Missions (Voice/Boss)
 * Sale Missions (Voice/Boss)

The Doomsday Heist

 * Setup: Dead Courier (Voice/Boss)
 * Setup: Signal Intercepts (Voice/Boss)
 * Setup: Server Farm (Voice/Boss)
 * The Data Breaches (Boss)
 * Setup: Avenger (Voice/Boss)
 * Setup: Rescue ULP (Voice/Boss)
 * Setup: Salvage Hard Drives (Voice/Boss)
 * Setup: Submarine Recon (Voice/Boss)
 * The Bogdan Problem (Boss)
 * Setup: Rescue Agent 14 (Voice/Boss)
 * Setup: Escort ULP (Voice/Boss)
 * Setup: Barrage (Voice/Boss)
 * Setup: Khanjali (Voice/Boss)
 * Setup: Air Defenses (Voice/Boss)
 * The Doomsday Scenario (Boss)

The Diamond Casino Heist
}}
 * Setup: Equipment (Boss)
 * Setup: Casino Scoping (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Vault Contents (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Unmarked Weapons (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Getaway Vehicles (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Hacking Device (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Vault Keycards (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Guard Patrol Routes (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Duggan Shipments (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Security Intel (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Power Drills (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Security Pass (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Masks (Voice/Boss)
 * Silent &amp; Sneaky Heist Prep
 * Heist Prep: Nano Drones (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Vault Lasers (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: EMP Device (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Infiltration Suits (Voice/Boss)
 * The Big Con Heist Prep
 * Heist Prep: Gruppe Sechs Gear Part 1 (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Gruppe Sechs Gear Part 2 (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Bugstar Gear Part 1 (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Bugstar Gear Part 2 (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Maintenance Gear Part 1 (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Maintenance Gear Part 2 (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Vault Drills (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Firefighter Gear (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: NOOSE Gear (Voice/Boss)
 * Aggressive Heist Prep
 * Heist Prep: Thermal Charges (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Vault Explosives (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Reinforced Armor (Voice/Boss)
 * Heist Prep: Tunnel Boring Machine (Voice/Boss)
 * Casino Heist (Boss)

Services (GTA Online)
Lester is unlocked as a phone contact at rank 10. When called, he offers a wide range of services, which purpose is generally to assist the Protagonist. Each service costs a specific amount of money and is unlocked once a specific rank has been reached.

Trivia

 * Lester may in part be inspired by the character Kelso from the movie . Both Kelso and Lester have physical disabilities, and both men are more involved with planning heists than with actually carrying them out.
 * Lester bares some similarities to Bentley from the  video game series as they're both criminals, their signature color is green, they're computer hackers and geniuses, they're handicapped and use a wheelchair.
 * According to the Rush Casting Call, Lester's beta name was Jerry Cole.
 * As reported by media outlets, Lester may be based heavily on, and  during the  administration until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007.
 * Lester's email address is "t34b4g99@eyefind.com" which is Leet/1337 for "Teabag99."
 * The in-game version of Lester's artwork shows him wearing a red shirt instead of the green check shirt. This outfit is only seen in the Paleto Score when he meets Michael, Trevor, Franklin and the chosen gunman at Ace Liquor.
 * Just like Lester keeps watch over the stock market, it is likely that he keeps a watch over the criminal world. He did mention "an Eastern European guy in Liberty City" to help them hit the jewelry store, indicating he probably kept a watch on Niko Bellic. He also makes comments about the McReary family if the player chooses Packie's resume while planning a heist, indicating he also knows about them beyond just Patrick himself.
 * Lester has an unused brown suit with a green checkered undershirt with a small tie and black loafers.
 * Lester's favourite radio station appears to be Space 103.2, as he switches the radio in Michael's car to this station when he is waiting for Michael to return in Cleaning out the Bureau.
 * He is one of the few characters along with Paige, Trevor, Avon Hertz, and Agent 14 to point out the Online Protagonists don't speak, and frequently makes fun of them for it, best example being during the Heist Update when he says that he won't have to cut out their tongue if they blab, as "you never use it".
 * Throughout The Doomsday Heist Lester frequently states over the radio that he misses the old days where he just had to worry about robbing banks, not working with the government and saving the world, and he believes that the Protagonists agree with him.
 * During the six years since GTA V, it is apparent that Lester has kept in touch with Michael's family, becoming close enough that during Jimmy's introduction in GTA Online, he refers to Lester as "my Uncle Les," and Lester briefly explaining to the protagonist that Jimmy is a "family friend."
 * Lester appears to be ambidextrous, as he uses both arms to draw on the planning board when putting together the plan in the arcade.
 * After The Diamond Casino Heist update, Lester's appearance is changed to his 2019 one when playing The Doomsday Heist. This is presumably a glitch.
 * Although he owns a car, he is rarely seen driving. In the The Diamond Casino Heist - Aggressive approach, he tells the player that 'driving aggravates his hives'.
 * As mentioned above, he suffers from skin rashes. At another point in The Diamond Casino Heist, Lester says that he 'feels his eczema clearing'.
 * He brews his own moonshine. When first entering Lester's home, the player can find that he has some homebrewing alcohol equipment set up with tubes running into jugs. After The Bureau Raid mission, if the player chose Covert, Lester will instruct Franklin to fill up everyone's glasses and mention he has some real vintage moonshine. Lester then says he plans to get drunk as a skunk, reverse engineer webcams and spy on sorority girls again.
 * If called after the mission Scouting the Port on his phone number (346-555-0102) while playing as Trevor Philips it is possible to initiate a cut phone call with the Coffield Center for Spinal Research at Mount Zonah, which is possibly a beta name for the Mount Zonah Medical Center.

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