WATCH: Hero Waiter Tackles Ex-Husband As He Tries To Pull Trigger

Footage of a heroic waiter tackling a deranged gunman surfaced after an Ohio jury found a man guilty of attempting to murder his ex-wife.

Matthew Exton was convicted last week of attempted murder after he walked into a Toledo restaurant in April 2025 and pointed a handgun at his ex-wife Kayda Valone. Surveillance footage from the incident shows Exton fumbling with the safety on his gun before waiter Tracy Cole, Jr. tackled him and brought him to the floor with the help of other bystanders.

The incident took place during the opening night of Sabira, an Italian restaurant, after Exton saw Valone and members of her family sitting at a table. The whole encounter was captured on surveillance footage from the restaurant that was played during the trial. 

“Nothing in their training and soft openings at the restaurant could have prepared the staff for what walked through that door,” Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates said, according to the Toledo 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 the trial, the 43-year-old Exton, a former lawyer with offices in Ohio and Michigan, was kicked out of the courtroom over repeated disruptions to the proceedings. “I’m God. And the Anti-Christ. Hail Satan. And I am a f*gg*t. Gun. Gun. Hail Satan. Gun. USA,” he said at one point, the Blade reported. 

While Exton claimed he pointed the weapon at Valone to pressure her over the sale of their former home, prosecutors argued that there was no doubt about Exton’s intent. 

“He was not there for a relationship-building effort,” prosecutor Rose Mock said during the trial. “When you fire a deadly weapon, or attempt to fire a deadly weapon, in a public place, you put everyone’s lives at risk.”

Exton was convicted of two additional assault charges. Set to be sentenced on September 21, he could end up behind bars for up to 25 years. 

At the time of the incident, the restaurant praised the response of its employees and customers. 

“We are deeply grateful for the swift and courageous actions taken by our team, our patrons, and the Toledo Police Department in response to an isolated domestic incident which occurred at one of our establishments on Friday evening,” the restaurant said. “Thanks to their quick intervention, the situation was resolved.”

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