Wild surveillance footage captured the moment a waiter tackled an armed man as he tried to gun down his ex-wife in a busy Ohio restaurant.
Matthew Exton, a 43-year-old former attorney, was convicted of attempted murder after prosecutors said he tried to shoot his ex-wife inside Sabira, an Italian restaurant in downtown Toledo, on April 11, 2025.
A Lucas County jury found Exton guilty of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault and multiple firearm specifications. He was acquitted of a third felonious assault charge, WTOL reported.
Exton had been drinking at a neighboring bar when he saw his ex-wife and her family at Sabira, which had been celebrating its opening night, Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates said.
He entered the restaurant, ordered a drink to be sent to her table and then spat toward the group as he left, prosecutors said.
He later returned with a handgun, beelining for his ex-wife’s table. However, when he pointed the gun at her and tried to shoot, the gun did not discharge because the safety was still on.
Dramatic surveillance footage showed a waiter and several patrons charging at Exton and pinning him to the ground before he could try to shoot again.
The gun contained one round in the chamber and seven more in the magazine, according to prosecutors.
“Nothing in their training and soft openings at restaurants could have prepared the staff for what walked through the door,” Bates said. “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.”
Exton testified that he did not intend to pull the trigger, claiming he was trying to pressure his ex-wife into speeding up the sale of their old home, the Toledo Blade reported.
He also had to be removed from the courtroom during closing arguments after he repeatedly interrupted prosecutors, the paper reported. He watched the verdict be read from a holding area.
The Ohio Supreme Court suspended Exton's law license in May 2025 after the incident.
He faces up to 25 years in prison for the convictions. He is set to be sentenced on September 21.
