Jury convicts Matthew Exton of attempted murder in Toledo restaurant

A Lucas County jury convicted former attorney Matthew Exton, 43, of attempted murder for pointing a loaded handgun at his ex-wife inside a Toledo restaurant, an attack that failed because the weapon's safety was engaged and a waiter tackled him before he could try again.

The jury also found Exton guilty of two counts of felonious assault and multiple firearm specifications, and acquitted him of one remaining count of felonious assault, the Lucas County prosecuting attorney's office said. The verdict came on Sept. 4. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 21.

Exton drew a Colt Defender inside Sabira, a Mediterranean restaurant in downtown Toledo, on April 11, 2025, and tried to fire at his ex-wife from close range. The gun did not discharge because the safety was still on. One round was in the chamber and seven more were in the magazine, and a waiter, Tracy Cole Jr., tackled him with help from other employees and diners.

What the surveillance video shows

Video released by the prosecutor's office shows Exton walking to the table and taking a handgun out of his pocket. His ex-wife yells gun. Moments later the waiter tackles him, and other diners move in to help hold him down.

Announcing the conviction, Lucas County Prosecuting Attorney Julia Bates said nothing in the staff's training or the restaurant's soft openings could have prepared them for what walked through the door. Her office released video of the encounter.

The defendant did not come with the intention of having a meal. He came with anger in him and with the intention to commit a public execution of his ex-wife at the restaurant that day.

Bates said the Sabira employees were victimized that day along with the family seated at the table, and that she hoped the jury's decision provided some sense of closure to both groups. She also thanked the jury for its service during the week of trial.

How the evening unfolded

Exton ordered a drink at the bar inside Souk, a restaurant next door, and saw his ex-wife and her family at Sabira as he left. He went in, ordered a drink sent to their table, and spat toward the group on his way out. He came back with the gun and headed straight for them.

His ex-wife told authorities that he pointed the gun at her chest and pulled the trigger repeatedly, according to a petition for a protection order she filed two days after the encounter. In a written statement attached to the petition, she described rapid clicking noises as he worked the trigger. She had been at the table with her family.

She told the court she believed she was about to die when the gun was aimed at her, according to The Toledo Blade's trial coverage. Prosecutors played the surveillance footage for jurors, and the trial included testimony from people who witnessed the attempt.

Cole and other restaurant workers, joined by several patrons, held Exton on the floor until police arrived. Prosecutors credited the waiter with helping to stop the attack, and Sabira, in a statement at the time, thanked its team, its customers and the Toledo Police Department for what it called swift and courageous action.

What Exton told the jury

Exton testified in his own defense. He told jurors he had worked as a prosecutor in Michigan and was licensed to practice law in Ohio, handling divorce, family and bankruptcy cases, and that he became homeless after he and his wife split up. Court records show the couple divorced in 2024.

He testified that he was frustrated by how she had handled parts of their divorce, and that he pointed the gun to show he was serious about her following a court order. He said he sent the drink and spat because he was frustrated.

He also told the court he was trying to pressure her over the sale of their former home, which he estimated was worth about $450,000. He described a prompt sale as his primary interest and said he needed the money to establish a place to live. He said the proceeds would be divided after taxes, bills and other costs, and did not give a figure he expected to receive.

Prosecutors rejected the explanation, pointing to the loaded weapon, the surveillance footage and his armed return to the restaurant as evidence of an intent to kill. Assistant Prosecutor Rose Mary Mock told jurors that he had not come to repair the relationship, and that attempting to fire a deadly weapon in a public place put everyone there at risk.

Removed during closing arguments

Exton was removed from the courtroom during closing arguments after repeatedly interrupting prosecutors and watched the verdict from a holding area, The Toledo Blade reported.

Exton had pursued an insanity defense before trial. A judge rejected it, ruling that he had not been suffering from a severe mental disease or defect at the time of the incident, International Business Times UK reported.

A suspended license, a viral clip

The Ohio Supreme Court imposed an immediate interim remedial suspension on Exton's law license on May 6, 2025, barring him from practicing while proceedings continued. The Toledo Bar Association, which sought the suspension, said he posed a substantial threat of serious harm to the public. He had law offices in Sylvania and Traverse City.

Footage of the encounter spread widely after the verdict. A clip posted on X has been viewed more than seven million times, International Business Times UK reported, and it shows a waiter and two other men rushing in as screaming breaks out in the dining room.

Sentencing set for September 21

Exton is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 21. The attempted murder count and the two felonious assault counts each carry sentencing enhancements, the prosecutor's office said. The Daily Wire reported that he could face up to 25 years in prison.

The prosecutor's office announcement of the verdict did not say what sentence the state would ask the court to impose, and it gave no indication of whether Exton would appeal.

Bates's description of a public execution was the prosecution's characterization of Exton's intent rather than language in the jury's verdict, International Business Times UK noted. The jury's findings were confined to the counts before it: attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, the firearm specifications and an acquittal on one assault count.

Exton's account from the witness stand was a flat denial of any attempt to shoot or injure his ex-wife, an account the jury rejected in convicting him of attempted murder.

I did not hurt her. I did not try to hurt her.

Cole has been widely praised since the footage circulated, and Bates called the employees and customers who stepped in heroes, crediting them with stopping the attack before another attempt.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-7233. Exton has been convicted but not sentenced. The Sept. 21 hearing will set the term he serves on the attempted murder count, the two felonious assault counts and the firearm specifications the jury returned against him.