For the past two weeks, Manoa residents have been warning one another about a man who drives a gold Toyota Camry behaving erratically near the Manoa Chinese Cemetery on East Manoa Road.

"It’s a very hot topic and everybody’s concerned," said Norman Wong, the coordinator of the Manoa Valley Neighborhood Security Watch. "People are afraid to walk the area because you don’t know what the guy is doing."

In the latest incident, the man followed an older Nevada couple who gave a ride to a female University of Hawaii student to protect her from the man. In another incident on Feb. 7, according to emails from the neighborhood watch, he rushed at another man three times on East Manoa Road.

A University of Hawaii Campus Security alert warning students on Thursday described the man as in his late 20s, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a "buzzed" haircut.

Elaine French, 67, who is staying in Manoa and picked up the UH student, said she noticed the car parked curbside just before the cemetery at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

French and her husband, Jerry Smith, who was driving, passed by the gold Camry three times to confirm it was the car they had heard warnings about. After the third pass, French said she realized a man was standing near a bush beside the car.

The couple drove on but turned around to warn a young jogger coming down the street. While talking to the woman, the man approached Smith’s car from the other side of the street.

French said the frightened woman asked whether she could get in their car. As the couple and the woman were driving away, the man tried to cut them off with his vehicle. French called police and was told to go to a well-lit area.

The man followed for what seemed like 15 minutes, chasing them at slow speed as Smith made some 15 laps around the Manoa Marketplace parking lot.

"We were frightened because we didn’t really know if he had a weapon," French said.

At one point the couple stopped behind a vehicle and the man got out, yelled at the driver’s side window and banged on the car’s hood, French said.

Just before officers arrived, they noticed the man was no longer following them.

French said the officers took their names for a report but couldn’t find a criminal offense.

French, who suspects the man may have a mental illness, said she regretted that the three passes her husband made at the beginning may have triggered the man’s reaction.

"We thought the car was empty," she said.

Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Yu said officers have made contact with the man, but no criminal case has been opened. She said an earlier complaint involving the man was withdrawn, and officers have not seen him commit any crimes.

She said residents should call 911 if they see suspicious activity and should be willing to prosecute.

Police said officers unsuccessfully tried to get the man to accept help from social service agencies.