Former state lawmaker Steve Nunn was beaten up Monday after throwing a basketball at a jail inmate facing robbery, rape and other charges, officials said.

Nunn, who is in the Fayette County jail awaiting trial in the slaying of his ex-fiancee, was playing basketball with inmate Ronald E. Hill on Monday night when the two apparently got into an argument.

Nunn threw the ball during the argument, and Hill, 22, jumped him, punching Nunn in the head and face, said Sgt. Jennifer Taylor, a spokeswoman at the jail.

“Mr. Nunn threw a basketball at him or toward him,” she said. “I’m not sure if an intent was there to hurt him or cause a fight.”

It’s not clear what the men were arguing about, Taylor said. The incident is being investigated.

Nunn is considered the victim of the assault, Taylor said. He has indicated he wants to file charges against Hill, but no new charges had been added to Hill’s record Tuesday.

Lexington police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts said police investigated a reported fourth-degree assault at the jail but had not received a criminal complaint from a victim Tuesday morning. Police will present the case to a judge once Nunn files a complaint.

Nunn suffered bruises and cuts to his face, Taylor said. He was checked out by Correctional Medical Services, the company that contracts with the city to provide medical service at the jail. He was returned to his regular housing unit Tuesday morning.

Hill was placed in disciplinary segregation housing, according to a news release from the jail.

Hill, whose nickname is Li’l Ron, according to court documents, is awaiting trial on 11 charges, nine of which are felonies. He was charged with first-degree rape, wanton endangerment, robbery and burglary after an incident in 2009, in which police say he entered a house with a handgun, forced a woman to have sex with him, pointed a gun at a 2-year-old and stole items on the way out.

He also faces charges of fleeing and evading police, criminal mischief and being a felon in possession of a handgun, as well as several drug charges in an unrelated case.

Hill and Nunn declined media interviews Tuesday.