A Warren County man who allegedly led police on a car chase that lasted more than two hours finally gave up – when an officer called him and asked him to stop.

Hackettstown police said that a random license plate check Thursday morning revealed that 42-year-old Erik Johnson of Washington was wanted on a theft charge. Police say Johnson fled, and the chase was on.

With a state police chopper in pursuit, Johnson allegedly led police through six towns: Hackettstown, Mansfield, Washington Borough, Washington Township, Lebanon and Independence before ending where he started in Hackettstown.

An officer found Johnson's phone number, called him and asked him to give up. Police say that Johnson complied and the pursuit ended at the Scrub-A-Dub car wash around 10:40 a.m.

Johnson was arrested and faces several charges, including eluding, failure to observe traffic signal, failure to maintain lane, failure to stop or yield, reckless driving and careless driving. He was taken to the Warren County Correctional Facility.

It was not immediately known if he had an attorney that could comment on his behalf.