Embezzlement over 5k felony

If a theft of 5k occurs by employee and it's reported to police but he has gathered the money to repay, is the employer able to drop charges or is prosecutor responsible to the county residents and business owners to hold him accountable for the crime? He met with the detective and claims he was either too high or in a black out due to being on a crack binge. He identified himself on security footage going into the safe. He's the executive chef and generally has access to the safe, but let himself in the business in the middle of the night and stole all the contents of cash. He may have also used the company credit card to buy high end items for the dope man but he's fuzzy on the details. The detective said he had probable cause to arrest him, but said he was going to send the info to the prosecutor and will allow him to turn himself in when charges are filled. If he pays back the money before he's charged and ex-boss is willing to drop charges will the prosecutor still charge him?