By Nancy Martinez and Simran Bhatt
Three witnesses testified on their familial relationship with the defendant and the household items that allegedly were stolen by the defendant.
Caleb David Lane is being charged with first-degree residential burglary after doorbell footage showed Mr. Lane and an unidentified male making several attempts to get inside the home and disturbing residents inside. Mr. Lane’s trial reconvened on Jan. 14, 2019, as the district attorney’s witnesses were called to the stand. Three witnesses testified, and a fourth was set to be called later in the afternoon. The first witness testified about the relationship between her and Lane, and how 911 was summoned to the incident on October 9, 2019. The second and third witnesses also testified to their relationships with Mr. Lane, as well as about objects that were allegedly stolen from inside the home and home garage.
The first witness called to the stand by Deputy District Attorney Caryn Warren was a close relative to the defendant and resided in the same home for over 16 years, then periodically in the last 8 years.
The witness described the relationship between herself and the defendant as distant, and explained that the last time they saw each other was sometime in September of 2019 when they met at McDonald’s where she provided Mr. Lane with money.
According to this witness, she has never told Mr. Lane that he was not allowed inside the home, but explained that her husband was very clear about Mr. Lane not being allowed in the home. The witness went on to explain that she has also never given Lane permission to enter the home, nor has she provided him with keys to the home.
On the morning of Oct. 9, 2019, the witness testified that, while she was away on vacation in Colorado, she received a notification from her security system. The system is a motion-activated recording system on her doorbell, alerting her of activity on the front porch of her house in West Sacramento.
The witness explained that she saw Mr. Lane approaching the door and attempting to kick down the front door. The witness called the police, concerned about the safety of her home.
This witness also testified more as to the relationship between Mr. Lane and her husband, which was described to be more distant than her relationship with the defendant.
The witness explained how, in the past, her husband went so far as switching the locks to the house multiple times and putting nails in the columns of their home’s front porch to hinder Mr. 
Lane’s ability to climb into the room directly above the porch.
The second witness was Mr. Lane’s brother who lives in West Sacramento. He stated that he did not give Mr. Lane permission to enter the house and that a few items from his bedroom were stolen, allegedly by Mr. Lane. The items included a Budweiser speaker, cowboy hat and a bike. He also mentioned how there were nails bolted to the balcony ledge by their stepfather in order the prevent the brothers from sneaking out of the house when they were younger.
The brother also stated that the nails made it difficult but still did not prevent people from entering the balcony. This balcony leads to the brother’s room, which was formerly Mr. Lane’s room when he used to stay in the house. The brother stated that, while he had a decent relationship with his brother, he did not approve of the decisions that Mr. Lane has made.
The second witness also went into detail about an incident the day before the burglary.
Mr. Lane allegedly came to the house looking for his mom, but only encountered the brother as the mother was on vacation. He mentioned that he missed his mother and that it was difficult to get in contact with her as she was usually not present at home.
The third witness was Mr. Lane’s stepfather. The stepfather mentioned he had a decent relationship with Mr. Lane, but that transitioned to no relationship approximately five years ago. The stepfather emphasized how he prohibited Mr. Lane from entering the house.
He then recalled the incident in question. He claimed that around 4:30 am on Aug. 9, 2019, Mr. Lane and his friend allegedly knocked on the door repeatedly, even after the stepfather told him through the built-in speaker on their security system not to enter the house.
Around the time the third witness was taking their grandchild to school at 7:40 am, the witness walked outside and confronted Mr. Lane and the other male, telling them that it was their last warning to get off his property.
When he went to drop the child off at school, he was informed by his wife that the police were at their home, and not to go back to the house. The witness was later instructed to go back to the home to talk to the police.
The fourth witness was set to testify at 1:30 pm on January 14, 2020.
