Ralph Pendelbury is a minor character in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Despite his brief appearance in The Introduction, Pendelbury's death serves as the catalyst for the San Andreas storyline.
History[]
Little is known about Pendelbury's background. At an unknown point in time, Pendelbury trained as a police officer and began serving with the Los Santos Police Department.
Events of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
Murder[]
By 1992, Pendelbury was working in the Internal Affairs department of the LSPD. During this time he had uncovered evidence of corruption against police officers Frank Tenpenny and Eddie Pulaski, both high-ranking officers in C.R.A.S.H., an LSPD unit tasked with the reduction of gang-related violence in Los Santos. Tenpenny, Pulaski, and their new associate, Officer Jimmy Hernandez, eventually caught him. They took him to a secluded area of the docks, where Pulaski assaults him despite Hernandez's pleading otherwise as Pendelbury was a fellow police officer. Before Pulaski can kill Pendelbury, Tenpenny restrains him and instead orders Hernandez to kill Pendelbury. Hernandez initially refuses but, after being threatened with his own death by Tenpenny, reluctantly shoots and kills Pendelbury.
Post-mortem[]
Tenpenny, Pulaski and Hernandez framed Carl Johnson for the murder of Officer Pendelbury, which allowed them to manipulate Carl for a period of time.
Later, when Carl Johnson reaches Las Venturas, Mike Toreno tells him about Pendelbury's death at the hands of Tenpenny, implying that Hernandez told Internal Affairs about the murder, but did not mention that he was the one who shot Pendelbury.
Tenpenny and Pulaski were later both charged with the murder of Pendelbury, although Carl Johnson had already murdered Pulaski. Tenpenny was cleared of all charges due to lack of evidence, which triggered the Los Santos Riots and eventually led to his death.