Waiter Tracy Cole, Jr. Has been hailed as a hero after tackling disgraced Ohio lawyer Matthew Exton as he tried to shoot his ex-wife inside a crowded Toledo restaurant.
Cole, Jr. Intervened during the April 11, incident at Sabira, an Italian eatery on its opening night, when Exton, 43, pulled a handgun and aimed it at his former spouse at point-blank range, according to footage and local station WTOL. The gun failed to fire because Exton had left the safety on, and as he fumbled with the weapon, Cole, Jr. Charged toward him and wrestled him to the ground, The Toledo Blade reported.
Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates praised Cole, Jr.’s bravery and highlighted the calculated nature of the attack in comments to WTOL. “Nothing in their training … could have prepared the staff for what walked through that door,” she said.
“The defendant did not come with the intention of having a meal,” Bates continued. “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, then a criminal defense attorney with offices in Sylvania and Traverse City, Michigan, had been drinking at a bar adjacent to Sabira when he spotted his ex-wife dining with her family, prosecutors said. He first sent a drink to her table, then spat at her as he exited the establishment before returning with the loaded weapon. The gun contained one round in the chamber and seven additional rounds in the magazine, according to prosecutors.
During his trial, Exton took the stand and offered a different account of his actions, according to The Toledo Blade. He testified that he didn’t mean to pull the trigger and claimed he pointed the gun at his ex-wife to pressure her to speed up the sale of their former home.
The jury rejected that explanation, and Exton was found guilty Friday of attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault. His law license was suspended in May 2025 as a result of the incident.
The ex-wife, who has not been publicly identified, survived the attack unharmed thanks to Cole, Jr.’s quick intervention and Exton’s failure to disengage the safety.
Exton is expected to be sentenced in the coming weeks.