TOLEDO, Ohio (WKRC) – A former Ohio attorney was convicted of attempted murder after prosecutors said he tried to shoot his ex-wife inside a crowded Toledo restaurant before a waiter and patrons intervened.
According to WTOL, a Lucas County jury found Matthew Exton, 43, guilty of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault and multiple firearm specifications. He was acquitted of a third felonious assault charge.
The charges stemmed from an April 11, 2025, confrontation at Sabira restaurant in downtown Toledo.
According to Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates, as reported by WTOL, Exton had been drinking at neighboring Souk when he saw his ex-wife and her family at Sabira, which was celebrating its opening night.
Exton entered Sabira, ordered a drink to be sent to their table and spat toward the group as he left, according to prosecutors.
He later returned armed with a handgun and headed toward his ex-wife’s table.
Prosecution witnesses testified Exton attempted to fire the gun at his ex-wife, but it did not discharge because the safety was engaged. A waiter tackled Exton before he could make another attempt.
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 the restaurant could have prepared the staff for what walked through that door,” Bates said, via WTOL. “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, reports The Toledo Blade, and claimed he pointed the gun at his ex-wife in an effort to pressure her to speed up the sale of their former home.
The newspaper also reported that the trial also took an unusual turn during closing arguments when Judge Gary Cook ordered Exton removed from the courtroom after he repeatedly interrupted prosecutors. Exton watched the verdict remotely from a holding area.
Exton, who previously had law offices in Sylvania and Traverse City, Michigan, had his law license suspended by the Ohio Supreme Court following the incident.
He faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 21.
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