A lawyer walked into a new restaurant in Toledo, Ohio. His ex-wife sat at a table with her parents. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at her.

The gun did not go off. The safety was still on.

A jury has now found him guilty.

Matthew Exton, 43, was found guilty of attempted murder. The jury in Lucas County also found him guilty of two counts of felonious assault. That is a serious charge for hurting or trying to hurt someone with a weapon. The jury also found him guilty of multiple firearm specifications. Those are extra gun findings tied to the main charges. He was found not guilty on one assault count.

The date was April 11, 2025. The place was Sabira, a restaurant on South Huron Street in downtown Toledo. It was the restaurant's opening night. The room was full.

Lucas County Prosecuting Attorney Julia R. Bates laid out what happened. Exton saw his ex-wife and her family. He ordered a drink sent to their table. Then he spit toward them and left. He came back with a gun.

He "headed directly toward their table, where he tried to shoot his ex-wife," Bates said.

Bates said Exton "came with anger in him and with the intention to commit a public execution of his ex-wife."

The gun was loaded. Court TV reported one round was in the chamber. Seven more were in the magazine.

Then the room moved.

A waiter tackled Exton. Other diners jumped in. Toledo police records say Exton was trying to work the safety when they took him down. A worker grabbed the gun and held it until cops got there.

No one was shot. No one was hurt.

Bates called the workers and the diners heroes. She said they stopped a tragedy.

The waiter told the jury why he moved. "I didn't want her to die," he said.

At trial, prosecutor Rose Mary Mock told jurors that Exton came "with malice in his heart and a loaded gun to commit a public assassination" of his ex-wife. Mock said he also meant to "severely injure her two parents."

Exton took the stand. He said he aimed the gun. "I pulled out my Colt Defender and I pointed it right at" the victim, he testified. He said his divorce left him hurting and with no home. He said he never aimed at her parents. He said he never tried to fire.

His lawyer, Ronnie Wingate, told the jury that pointing a gun is not the same as trying to kill. Wingate said "a substantial step has to be taken."

The jury did not agree.

The case took almost a year and a half to get to trial. Exton first pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Doctors checked if he was well enough to face a jury. He was later found competent to stand trial.

The end of the trial got ugly. Court TV reported that Exton kept yelling during closing arguments on September 4. He shouted "Gun!" He made his hand into a gun and pointed it at the state's lawyers. He aimed it at prosecutor Michael Loisel and said, "I'm pointing at you, Mr. Loisel. Gun."

The jury was sent out twice. Deputies then took Exton out of the room. He watched the rest on a video feed.

Exton cannot practice law now. The Ohio Supreme Court took his law license on May 7, 2025. That came less than a month after the attack. It was an interim suspension, not a lifetime ban. He had law offices in Sylvania and in Traverse City.

He is set to be sentenced on September 21.

This case is out of Ohio. But the shape of it is old and common. A breakup turns into rage. The rage shows up where other people are eating dinner.

Help is out there. The National Domestic Violence Hotline calls itself free, private and open 24 hours a day. The number is 1-800-799-7233. The group also runs a Spanish-language service.