I don't know if this qualifies, but there's something like that in the ending of ETUDE IN BLACK. Columbo asks Alex Benedict whether he always wears a flower to concerts and he says "Yes."
Then when Columbo shows him the tape of him without one, Alex says "I don't always wear a flower."

That's about the only time I can think of when the person does a complete "about-face" without even coming up with an explanation to go with it.

One scene like this that I always enjoy and that makes me smile is in Murder Under Glass when Columbo is buying vegetables with Paul Gerard tagging along. Gerard says maybe the poison got into the bottle at the winery and Columbo responds by saying, "The world Health Organization has no records of a mass poisoning at any of the French Vineyards." Then Columbo says the maybe Vittorio planned on murdering someone himself and that he did have a dinner planned with Gerard, and maybe Vitorrio, in his anger, accidently drank the poison himself. Gerard responds with, "Yes, I could see how that could be possible." Columbo, with a look of mild surprise on his face, says, "You can, sir? Then perhaps you can explain it to me. How does a man drink a bottle of wine that he poisoned himself?"

The classic final scene in "A Case of Immunity" is very worthy of mention here, as the villain goes from high speed drive to a quick reverse in terms of arrogance. Columbo's trickery at its best and turns out to be funny with respect to where the murderer thought he was going.

In "Swan Song," Tommy Brown is clearly feeling very confident at the airport, actually laughing at Columbo's failure. Presumably Tommy's elation continues right up until the moment Columbo stuns him with the headlights in the woods, carrying the proof of his guilt -- almost literally a "deer in the headlights," if deer were murderers.

Oh man, when Paul Hanlon is at the gymnasium with the basketball practice, and Columbo tells him that not only was Mr. Wagner's house bugged, but so was Hanlon's. The way he breaths out a sigh of horror is beyond perfect. He goes from being super irate at Columbo for waisting his time to pretty much realizing he's going to jail for sure, in a matter of five seconds. LOL

Columbo: "So we checked your office, and you know what? Your phones are bugged too. By the same equipment and by the same man."

Paul Hanlon: "My phones?"

Columbo: "Yes sir. Bugged."