TOLEDO, Ohio — A former lawyer has been sentenced to more than two decades in prison for trying to kill his ex-wife in a packed downtown restaurant, an attack stopped when a waiter tackled him before the gun could fire.

Matthew Exton, 43, was sentenced Monday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court after a jury convicted him earlier this month of attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault. Judge Gary Cook imposed a term that requires at least 20 years in prison and can run as high as about 24½ years with firearm specifications. Exton has said he will appeal.

The attack happened on April 11, 2025, at Sabira restaurant in Toledo’s Warehouse District. Prosecutors said Exton spotted his former wife dining with family, including her mother, Jeanne Valone. He approached the table, spat toward them, left, then returned with a loaded Colt Defender. Surveillance video showed him pointing the gun at his ex-wife at close range. The weapon did not fire because the safety was on. Waiter Tracy Cole Jr. tackled him. Other patrons helped hold him until police arrived.

Prosecutors told the court Exton “nearly perpetrated a mass casualty event in the middle of a crowded restaurant if not for the gun safety being on and the intervention of the restaurant server who tackled him.” They described the episode as an attempted public execution.

At sentencing, Exton tried to delay the hearing, saying he had fired his lawyer and wanted more time. He accused Judge Cook of political bias, incorrectly calling him an unopposed Democrat facing election. Cook was reelected in 2024 and is not on the ballot until 2030. The judge denied the delay.

Exton then spoke for about 20 minutes. He accepted that he pointed a gun at his ex-wife and her family but said he was depressed and suicidal after their 2024 divorce and did not plan to fire. He claimed he only meant to scare her into speeding up the sale of their former home. He repeatedly interrupted prosecutors, calling them “liar.” He also asked to speak with a detective about charging the waiter who tackled him.

The jury acquitted him of attempted murder involving his former father-in-law, who testified that Exton never pointed the gun at him. Exton’s Ohio law license was suspended after the arrest. He had previously worked as a prosecutor in Michigan and practiced family and bankruptcy law.

Judge Cook played the restaurant video in court and said the footage showed Exton trying to take the safety off, evidence of intent. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction can add time if he violates prison rules.

Sources: New York Post; The Blade; NBC News; WTOL 11; ABA Journal; TMZ; The Sun.