Rape suspect arrested after trying to escape Pleasant Hill Nordstrom Rack once long standoff ended
PLEASANT HILL, Calif. (KGO) -- The rape and domestic violence suspect at the center of an hours-long standoff inside a pleasant hill Nordstrom Rack Tuesday into Wednesday is now in jail.
Authorities say Joseph Alan Ramos ran inside the store Tuesday night after leading police on a chase in what they say was a stolen vehicle. The standoff lasted through Wednesday morning, as police were searching the rafters, but could not find him and called it off around 7:30 a.m.
Police were convinced Ramos changed clothes and sneaked out with customers, but hours later they spotted him lowering himself down from the ceiling.
That's when he was arrested around 11:40 a.m. Wednesday.
VIDEO: 9-hour SWAT standoff continuing at Pleasant Hill Nordstrom Rack after suspect ran into store Tuesday
"If we don't catch him today, we will get him another day," a Pleasant Hill PD spokesperson told ABC 7 News just hours before Ramos climbed down and tried to escape.
During the standoff, there was a very large law enforcement presence on scene throughout Wednesday morning, as officers were coming and going from the entrance of the store with the doors open.
RELATED: Suspect in custody after 2-hour standoff in Pleasanton, police say
They even used a cherry picker to get up to the rafters, and sent a drone into the store.
A Nordstrom Rack spokesperson told ABC7 News that the store was fully evacuated during the incident and that no employees or customers were harmed.
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