Can a theft charge be dismissed with restitution?
Possibly. Paying restitution is often a condition of diversion or a factor in negotiation, and prosecutors weigh it. It isn't a transaction that buys a dismissal.
Where it helps most: first offenses, modest amounts, a cooperative merchant, and payment made early rather than at sentencing.
Where it helps less: aggregated cases, allegations of coordinated activity, prior theft history, or a merchant pursuing prosecution as policy.
One caution. Paying a merchant's civil demand letter is not the same as paying court-ordered restitution, and it doesn't resolve the criminal case. People sometimes pay the demand believing it ends the matter, and then discover the prosecution is unaffected. Talk to counsel before responding to a civil demand, because how and when payment is made can matter.
There's also a self-incrimination dimension. An offer to pay can be characterized as an admission, which is another reason to route it through counsel rather than handling it directly.
Don't answer that demand letter on your own. It's a separate track with its own consequences. ---
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