Former lawyer who pulled gun on ex-wife in Ohio restaurant is sentenced to nearly 25 years

A former lawyer who stormed into an Ohio restaurant and aimed a handgun at his ex-wife last April was sentenced to up to 24 ½ years in prison on Monday.

Matthew Exton, 43, was convicted of two counts of attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault earlier this month in connection with the incident at a Toledo restaurant. Prosecutors said Exton tried to shoot his former spouse at close range with a Colt Defender as she sat at a table alongside her mother on April 11, 2025.

Moments after the gun failed to go off because the weapon’s safety was on, a waiter and others tackled Exton and subdued him.

Exton faced sentencing enhancements under Ohio law because of his use of a firearm while committing felonies.

During his sentencing hearing Monday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, prosecutors said a mass casualty event was avoided that day.

Prosecutors say Matthew Exton attempted to shoot his ex-wife on April 11, 2025, at Sabira restaurant in downtown Toledo.Lucas County Prosecutor's Office“He nearly perpetrated a mass casualty event in the middle of a crowded restaurant. ... He had no regard for anyone or anything other than himself,” prosecutor Mike Loisel argued, according to a live feed of the proceedings.

Loisel added that Exton is so unhinged that he “must be incarcerated” for a lengthy period of time.

“This court has provided protection for all the victims in this matter and, quite honestly, to the public at large,” Loisel said.

Exton, who divorced his wife in 2024, argued on his own behalf Monday after telling Judge Gary Cook he wanted to fire his lawyer.

He insisted he did not intend to kill or harm his former spouse or her mother, even though surveillance video from the event played at his trial shows him charging at the pair with his gun drawn.

In a series of arguments in court, in which he complained that he’s been treated unfairly, Exton insisted his charges were political and that he had no ill intentions.

“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. ... I didn’t kill anybody. I didn’t hurt any people, and I did not try,” Exton argued at his sentencing hearing.

Judge Cook, however, debunked the defense by playing footage of the event before handing down a two-decade prison sentence. He pointed to a moment when Exton appears to scramble to unlock the safety lever after the weapon failed to fire.

“You are flummoxed by the fact that it did not go off, and you’re trying to fix the safety,” Cook said. “That is the moment cementing your intent.”

Shayna Jacobs is a national reporter for NBC News digital.