After an all-night standoff was called off at a Nordstrom Rack, Pleasant Hill police arrested a suspect after he dropped from the ceiling where he had hidden overnight.

A rape and domestic violence suspect who evaded police in a chase, fled into a Nordstrom Rack store and left authorities convinced that he had changed clothes and sneaked out was nabbed around noon on Wednesday when he dropped from the store’s ceiling, police said.

Pleasant Hill police arrested Joseph Alan Ramos, 26, of Concord on suspicion of rape, domestic violence and felony reckless evasion, the department said in a Facebook post.

Police said he was arrested after he lowered himself from the ceiling of the store in the Sunvalley Shopping Center at about 11:45 a.m. — 18 hours after he climbed into it — and ran through the back door of the store. Nordstrom Rack security guards tackled him and he was taken into custody by police.

The nightlong standoff at the store in the mall in Pleasant Hill started Tuesday night after officers from the Pittsburg Police Department and Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office chased the suspect in a stolen vehicle until he stopped in a parking lot and ran into the Nordstrom Rack, police said.

He fled into a crawl space above the store, where he remained while a SWAT team methodically searched the store and officers stood watch outside.

After they were unable to find the suspect, Pleasant Hill police ended the standoff shortly after 8 a.m.

They surmised that the man had grabbed a new outfit from the store’s racks, changed clothes and walked out with shoppers and employees during the initial chaos and before the SWAT team arrived.

However, although they called off the standoff, a detective remained at the store “to monitor the business in case Ramos had somehow eluded detection during the hours-long search of the building,” police said.

He had. And while it’s not clear whether Ramos changed into a new outfit during his 18 hours in the store’s attic, he’ll be wearing the Contra Costa County Jail brand.

Michael Cabanatuan and Jessica Flores are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email:mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com, jessica.flores@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan, @jessmflores

Michael Cabanatuan is a general assignment and breaking news reporter who's covered everything from wildfires and sports fans to protests and COVID masking requirements. He's also written extensively about transportation and covered Contra Costa County for The Chronicle. He's ridden high-speed trains in Japan, walked in the Transbay Tube, been tear-gassed in Oakland and exposed to nude protesters in the Castro. Cabanatuan worked at the Paradise Post (long before anyone heard of the town), the former West County Times (in Richmond) and the Modesto Bee before joining The Chronicle. He is a two-time graduate of UC Berkeley.

Jessica Flores is a reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. Before joining The Chronicle in 2021, she worked for USA Today, NPR affiliate KPCC and Curbed LA. Originally from L.A., she received her master's degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and a bachelor's degree from Mount Saint Mary's University in Los Angeles.