TOLEDO, Ohio — A man who once practiced law in Ohio and Michigan, who admitted to pointing his gun at his ex-wife in a Toledo restaurant, was found guilty of attempted murder on Sept. 4.
Matthew Exton, 43, of Traverse City, Michigan, was also found guilty in two of three counts of felonious assault by a Lucas County Common Pleas Court jury, The Toledo Blade reported.
Two firearms specifications were attached to each of the three counts, WTOL reported.
Exton faces up to 25 years in prison for the convictions when Judge Gary Cook sentences him on Sept. 21, the Blade reported. That includes 11 convictions for attempted murder, eight for the felonious assault count relating to his ex-wife’s mother, and a combined maximum of six years for attached firearms specifications.
The incident occurred on April 11, 2025, at the Sabira restaurant in Toledo, according to the Blade.
Exton was not in the courtroom when the verdict was handed down, the newspaper reported. He was restricted to watching and listening to it in a video livestreamed to his holding cell in the courthouse.
He was removed from the courtroom earlier in the day during closing arguments for what was termed “disruptive behavior” by Cook.
Matthew Exton was found guilty of attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault after attempting to shoot at his ex-wife and her family. https://t.co/Pn8lEhOeFM
— WTOL 11 (@WTOL11Toledo) September 5, 2026
According to Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates, Exton had ordered a drink at Souk restaurant in downtown Toledo, WTOL reported. When he exited, he noticed his ex-wife and her family at the Sabira restaurant, which was located next door and was having a soft-opening celebration.
Prosecutors alleged that Exton ordered a drink at the bar and sent it to his ex-wife’s table. He then allegedly spat at their table and left, returning minutes later and moving toward them with a gun, according to the television station.
Surveillance video in the restaurant, which was introduced as evidence, showed Exton attempting to fire the weapon but failing because the safety on the gun was engaged.
A waiter tackled Exton and wrestled him to the ground before he could attempt a shot, WTOL reported.
“Nothing in their training and soft openings at the restaurant could have prepared the staff for what walked through that door,” Bates said in a statement issued after the verdict, according to the Blade. “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.”
During his testimony, Exton denied that he tried to pull the trigger. He claimed he was trying to get his ex-wife to expedite the sale of their former home in Traverse City so he could receive his portion of the proceeds, the newspaper reported.
Attorney records show that Exton practiced law in Ohio, where he was a divorce and separation and criminal defense attorney in Sylvania, located northwest of Toledo, WWTV reported. He is originally from Ohio and graduated from the University of Toledo College of Law.
The Blade also reported “for about six weeks ending on Feb. 21, 2024, Mr. Exton was the chief assistant county prosecutor in Kalkaska County ... That end date was the day after he displayed his county badge and identification during a dispute with staff at the Cabela’s store in Dundee over whether he could buy a handgun there.”
According to the Blade, Exton was the chief assistant county prosecutor in Kalkaska County, Michigan, for about six weeks ending on Feb. 21, 2024.
He also maintained a law office in Traverse City that has since closed, WWTV reported.
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