Dillons employee accused of stealing thousands, buying gaming computer and cards

A west Lawrence grocery store theft case grew into a felony accusation after an arrest affidavit said a Dillons employee admitted taking tens of thousands of dollars and using some of the money on a high-end gaming computer and Magic the Gathering cards. When police reached the store at 3000 W. Sixth St., they found Ethan Cade Waters, 21, in an office with the asset-protection manager and $14,000 in cash on the table.

The affidavit said Waters had gone home to retrieve that cash after being confronted about the theft. It also said he later wrote a handwritten confession admitting he took $9,000 on two occasions. In that statement, Waters allegedly said he was under financial pressure and had been trying to help his father, though the filing did not explain what help was needed.

Store security’s role was central to the case. The asset-protection manager told police he could document at least $25,000 through video evidence, even as the later affidavit said the total loss may have been between $40,000 and $50,000. That kind of paper trail matters in an internal theft case, where losses can build quietly inside a familiar neighborhood business before they surface through confrontation, video review and a defendant’s own words.

Waters was first arrested on May 16, then formally charged May 27 with felony theft alleging he stole $25,000 from the Dillons store. The jail log listed the suspected offense as theft by deception in the amount of $25,000 to $100,000, and he was later released on a $2,500 cash or surety bond. Under Kansas law, theft of at least $25,000 but less than $100,000 is a severity level 7, nonperson felony.

The store sits in the long-running west Lawrence retail corridor near Sixth Street and Lawrence Avenue, where Dillons has long served as a grocery anchor. For shoppers and employees alike, the case raises a sharper question than one retail theft: how a loss of this size could happen inside a major store, and what tighter controls may be needed to keep everyday workplace trust from turning into a criminal complaint.