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The head of security at Berkeley High School was charged with identity theft at an arraignment Monday for allegedly stealing a teacher’s account information to pay his bills.

William “Billy” Keys Jr. admitted to police that he used the account information of a special education teacher who also works at the high school to pay for $455.54 in Comcast and Pacific Gas and Electric bills, according to court documents.

On Jan. 12, a BHS special education teacher told police that he saw two unauthorized charges on his bank statement for Comcast and PG&E that were dated Dec. 27 and Dec. 29, according to the documents. The teacher’s bank statement listed Keys’ name for the Comcast charge, according to the documents.

The teacher also told police he kept his checkbook in an unlocked drawer in his office at the high school, according to the documents.

The court documents assert that Keys originally told police that he found “assorted property” strewn on the ground outside of the teacher’s classroom during winter break in 2011 and must have accidentally used the teacher’s property to pay the bills, according to the court documents.

But according to the documents, Keys eventually told police that he knew the account numbers that he had used to pay the bills were not his own.

“Mr. Keys eventually admitted he needed to take responsibility for what had happened,” read the documents.

Berkeley High School Principal Pasquale Scuderi wrote in an email sent out to the high school community that despite the recent arrest, “BHS will continue to hold the highest expectations for its staff and students and place no one above consequences when inappropriate or illegal actions jeopardize the integrity, safety, or security of our school.”

Berkeley Unified School District spokesperson Mark Coplan said Keys had been a member of the Berkeley High community since he graduated from the school, adding that the arrest comes at a great shock to the Berkeley High community.

“Right now, we’re all just suffering shock, because from the principal on down Billy Keys is held in high regard,” Coplan said in an email. “The shock is because people care about Billy and hope him the very best in this difficult time.”

Keys has been placed on administrative leave while the district conducts an investigation, according to Scuderi’s email.

At his arraignment Monday at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse, Keys was granted a continuance so that he could be assigned a public defender. According to the Alameda County website, Keys’ next court date is slated for March 5.

Jonathan Tam covers crime.

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